Know Why the Nightingale Sings
by The Red Dragons Order
Summary: That fateful Halloween night something happened. It sent Harry Potter to Japan a few years before the Meiji revolution. How are the wizards going to deal with an Oniwabanshu Harry Potter? Harry Potter-Rurouni Kenshin x-over.
1. Prologue

**Know Why The Nightingale Sings**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the obvious, the rest belongs to JK Rowling and Nobuhiro Watsuki.

**Summary:** That fateful Halloween night something went wrong. It sent little Harry Potter through space and time to Japan a few years before the revolution. How are the wizards going to deal with an Oniwabanshu onmitsu Harry Potter? Harry Potter-Rurouni Kenshin x-over. 

**Author's Note:** I have officially become hooked on crossovers, and here's the proof. I just cannot seem to stop writing them! I should never have written the HP/POTC crossover, it brought this on! AAARRGH! **:pulls at hair:** Either way, I hope you enjoy this and please review and tell me what you think. Ja ne!

Thanks to my good friend and beta, Paladin Steelbreaker.

**Prologue**

Baby Harry watched as the redheaded woman cooed at him, her green eyes sparkling with love. Harry laughed at her silly antics and tried to grab some of that flame-like hair. He loved his parents. His mother had to be the kindest mother on earth, and his father was undoubtedly the best prankster to walk about. Then there was that weird godfather of his, Sirius, who never acted serious. At least not with Harry. And not to forget Uncle Remus who always told Harry such weird and magical stories. There were that old, long-bearded man whose name was too difficult to pronounce for Harry, so he called him simply 'Bus. If the guy didn't like it, he hadn't complained yet. Nor did he complain when Harry grabbed his silver beard and tugged it.

And lastly there was the rat-like short idiot who didn't feel right. Harry frowned at that thought, his little chubby baby-face looking very cute and making Lily laugh and coo even more. Harry seemed to be the only one who noticed that the man they called Peter didn't feel right. He had tried to tell his parents about it, tried to chase Peter off by biting his legs or throwing stuff at him, but nothing seemed to work. The grown-ups just laughed it off. All but Uncle Remus who seemed to posses some sort of instincts and was a bit jumpy now and then with Peter in the room.

Harry giggled as his father leaned over his mother's shoulder to look down at him.

"What's up little man?" James asked as he made a funny grimace.

Harry cooed.

Lily giggled and tickled Harry's little foot which twitched. "My little bundle of joy, aren't you?" she cooed.

James looked offended. "What about me? What am I around here, chopped liver? I kicked in with some chromosomes too, you know!"

"You're my big bundle of insanity." Lily replied.

"Hey!"

Harry laughed a baby's innocent laugh. He had no idea what his parents were talking about, but it sounded fun. His parents were so funny!

Suddenly Lily turned serious – _'What a pun!'_ Harry giggled to himself – and turned to James. "So, what did they say at the meeting?"

That's right, his dad had been called to a meeting with the 'Bus-guy and the 'Bus-guy's red birdie. Harry liked the birdie, its singing could always calm him. It was very nice, and the bird was always so warm and safe. _'Just like mom and dad,'_ he thought as he stared up at his parents. Baby Harry was sure that there wasn't a single baby out there who had parents like his. His were the best!

James sighed. "It has been confirmed. There's a traitor amongst us, but we don't know who he is. The spy Albus has in HIS ranks warned him that the Dark Lord is planning something, though it's only in the earliest stages yet so we have time to counteract it." There was a short silence before James looked at Lily. "Didn't you visit the Longbottoms today? How's their son doing?"

Neville Longbottom was Harry's best friend. Harry nodded in contentment at that thought. Yep, Neville and Harry were twin terrors when together, and all grown-ups better fear their wrath! Harry wanted to insert evil, diabolical laughter right here, but he couldn't make it sound evil and diabolical, so he settled for the usual giggling. Such were the restrictions of a baby. Sirius really had the evil, diabolical laugh down and was teaching it to Harry, even though Lily didn't seem to approve of it.

Lily smiled, the heavy atmosphere which had completely escaped Harry, suddenly lifted a bit. "Neville's fine, as a Frank and Alice. They have old Mrs Longbottom, Frank's mother, living with them now. She takes care of Neville when either Frank or Alice, or both, are called out as Aurors."

James nodded. "The Dark Lord is keeping us very busy these days." He muttered.

Harry tilted his head. Who was this Dark Lord chap anyways? Why did he make Harry's parents so sad and worried? Didn't he have a mommy? Well, he better get one before he did something bad, Harry thought angrily to himself.

… – **Halloween,** **October 31st 1981** – …

There was heavy tension in the air the entire day, but again baby Harry seemed to be the only one to notice it. Stupid grown-ups.

The tension made Harry restless, and Lily seemed to almost have given up by the time James came home from another Order meeting. He sent her straight to bed as it was late at night, and then proceeded to walk around with Harry for an hour or so before finally managing to calm the baby down. Harry wanted to stay awake, and he really tried to, but finally exhaustion had won over and he had fallen asleep in his father's arms.

The next time he was woken up was when someone blew down their front door. And he knew instinctively that it wasn't Sirius this time. The animagus had been taking care of Harry for a day, and hadn't been able to find his key. So, being Sirius, he had promptly blown the door off the hinges completely forgetting anything known as un-locking charms. But Sirius had a certain warm feeling around him, the feeling that was currently streaming into the house was cold and dangerous. Harry shivered and whimpered as he felt the blood-lust in the air. He was sure this wasn't going to end good.

"Lily, take Harry and go!" Harry heard his father shout from downstairs. "It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off-!" his father's voice was cut off by an explosion.

Baby Harry heard as his mother stumbled out of the master bedroom, and start running down the corridor to the baby room. Although the hallway wasn't long it seemed like ages before his door sprung open, and a dishevelled, panicky Lily entered. She picked up Harry who was still silent; it was as if he understood the seriousness of the situation despite his young age.

"My brave, smart boy," Lily whispered, then winced as she heard something which was undoubtedly a body hit the wall downstairs, and instinctively knew that it was her now-dead husband. "James…" she closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again they were burning with determination. Determination to get out of the house alive with her little son. She could mourn for her husband once she and Harry were out of danger.

She hadn't taken more than a few steps towards the window, when the footsteps of literal doom came from the staircase accompanied by a dark chuckle. Lily turned, grabbed the handle of the door to the room and shut the door right as the Dark Lord got to the last step. She cast some quick hexes and charms on the door, then ran towards the window again.

The door exploded.

The Dark Lord entered with a grin on his snake-like features. "Did you really think you could escape, woman? Me, the Dark Lord!" he demanded as he raised his wand. "Stand aside girl, I am here for the brat, not you."

"No! Take me! Not Harry!" Lily pleaded. Half of her body – the side where she held Harry – was turned away from the dark figure in the doorway. "I'll do anything, just don't take Harry!"

"I'm afraid that's impossible, now stand aside silly girl!"

"Never!"

"As you wish," the Dark Lord growled, his red eyes glowing demonically. "_Avada Kedavra_!"

As the Dark Lord started his spell, so had Lily started her own. One word had popped into her mind, and just as the Dark Lord finished saying -_davra_, she finished saying "_Esti Sandangera_!", and as she was closer than the Dark Lord her spell reached Harry quicker. It bathed the green-eyed baby in a silver light which grew and grew in colour even as Lily herself dropped dead to the floor. The sound of phoenix-song filled the room and the enraged Dark Lord watched as baby Harry just simply disappeared.

… – **The Tokaido (the East Sea Road), somewhere between Shizuoka and Hamamatsu,** **November 1st 1851** – …

Oniwabanshu onmitsu Kashiwazaki Nenji, better known as Okina, was walking along dressed as a poor farmer fleeing from the growing restlessness. He liked being a shinobi, a ninja, simply because he loved knowing what went on. Well, he loved fighting as well, but that was another case, the same with the fact that he loved to disguise himself and take on different personalities.

Alright, he admitted it, he just plain loved everything about being a ninja.

Satisfied with his reasoning, Okina moved along and silently cursed and wished he could start whistling or something just to help the time pass. But he was, as said, supposed to be a poor, fleeing farmer, and they were depressed and did not whistle. Which made the journey rather boring in Okina's eyes.

Sighing he moved on and occupied his thoughts with the latest message from the Okashira. They were debating whether or not to start an Oniwabanshu headquarter in Kyoto sometimes in the close future. What with all these foreigners coming and going, and the brewing revolution, it would be very profitable to have a foothold in the capital of Japan.

Okina was so far into his thoughts that he didn't hear the cries at first. In fact, he would have passed the crying thing altogether if the rustling bushes hadn't caught his attention.

Curious as he was, Okina slowly advanced and parted the thick undergrowth. A baby sat in the tall grass looking around with wide, green eyes. Then the baby looked at Okina, who stared back.

The staring went on for a while.

Then the baby promptly reached a hand forwards and tugged at Okina's beard.

Okina just grinned. "Well, aren't you quite the little find!" he exclaimed and picked the boy up. "Wonder where you came from!"

The baby stared at him as though trying to understand, then giggled and tugged at the beard again.

"I am Okina," Okina introduced himself. "O-ki-na."

"Mum!" the baby exclaimed.

"I think you're missing the point here," the shinobi muttered and sighed again. He really didn't have the heart to leave the little tyke out in the cold. Perhaps he could bring him to the closest village and see if anyone recognized the boy, though he doubted it. "Right, if nothing turns up during the journey to Kyoto, you're staying with me, kodomo (child)."

The boy blinked and tugged at the beard once again. "_Mum_!"

"I have no idea what you just said. I don't suppose you can supply me with a name?"

It was at this point the child demonstrated a very sharp mind, and said, "Harry!"

Okina blinked. Harry was definitely not a common Japanese name. It sounded foreign, perhaps British or American. He couldn't be sure. The poor kid had probably come with a pair of rich foreigners, and either his parents had been killed or the child had been stolen. And at some point the caretakers/kidnappers had decided that a child was not worth it and had abandoned the little tyke in the middle of nowhere.

"Yosh! I don't think you will fit in with a name like 'Harry', so from now on you will be known as Haruo! Rihito Haruo, my nephew!"

And that that was how little Harry Potter started a new life as Rihito Haruo, Oniwabanshu onmitsu, in revolutionary Japan.

…----…

There. Please tell me what you think of this and whether I should continue it or not. And also whether I should move this to the 'Rurouni Kenshin' section. Please review.

_Esti Sendangera_ (be safe) - Esparanto

Fellow author in crime,

The Red Dragons Order


	2. Chapter 1

**Know Why the Nightingale Sings**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the obvious, the rest belongs to JK Rowling and Nobuhiro Watsuki.

**Author's Note:** I never, ever expected this story to get so much response. You people really brighten up my day! **:sniff:** Thanks for all the reviews! Um, just so you know, this is more of a filler chapter than anything else. The real story will start next chapter, I just needed to get some history out of the way which is probably it seems a little rushed in places. However, there's plenty little information about everyone before and during the revolution, so there really isn't much to say. Please enjoy nevertheless!

Thanks to my good friend and beta, Paladin Steelbreaker.

**Chapter One:**

After checking in a few villages if someone knew the child (not that he searched as thoroughly as he should have), Okina just decided to give up and keep the little tyke as his own. This, of course, meant that little Haruo would grow up to be one of the best shinobi out there, and so Okina started on the child's training at once.

"First things first, Haruo-chan," the man said to the child in his arms. "We clearly need to teach you to speak and walk and all that, but there are some skills a ninja needs that do not involve talking."

The child looked at him with wide, curious eyes clearly not understanding a word Okina said.

Okina didn't let that bother him. "Charisma and charm play quite the role in a shinobi's life. Let me demonstrate." The man looked around at the market they were currently travelling through. They were very close to Kyoto, and the town – Kuwana – was bustling with people.

Finally Okina spotted the perfect victims for this demonstration. "Look over there, Haruo-chan," he pointed to five young women standing at a booth which displayed various cloths. "Those are our test-subjects. Now, watch and learn from the Master of Charm." Okina started walking towards the booth, and stood close to the girls whilst he pretended to be looking at some smaller pieces of cloth. Theatrically he held a few of them up against the baby boy in his arms as if measuring.

The girls, once they noticed him, squealed. "Is he your child, ojii-san (mister)?" one girl asked as the other four surrounded Okina and started cooing and making faces at Haruo.

"My nephew," Okina replied with a smile and a nod.

"Oh, he's so cute!"

"Ne, he's got _green_ eyes!"

"That is so sweet!"

"Not often one sees that colour around here. But it just makes him all the more kawaii (cute)!" the girls fussed.

"You are so kind to take care of him, ojii-san!" the first girl gushed.

Years later Haruo would look back on this experience, and swear to all the deities that he was traumatized for life. It would become even worse when he finally found out why the hell Okina had started to nosebleed in the middle of his conversation with the young women.

…----…

The first couple of years Okina left Haruo with other Oniwabanshu members when he was on missions. Once done with his mission, he picked the boy up again and they moved on to the next town Okina had a mission in. Or they simply relaxed until the Okashira contacted them. This went on until the Okashira decided to actually start an Oniwabanshu headquarter in Kyoto, and put Okina in charge of it. Thusly Haruo and Okina arrived in Kyoto in 1854 for a lengthy stay.

After establishing the headquarters under the pretence of running an inn called the Aoiya, some other Oniwabanshu members were stationed there as well to help run the inn. These people also took the time to teach Haruo when they weren't busy with missions or errands. Surprisingly enough, the Aoiya became rather popular amongst the population, and Haruo had his hands full sometimes running to and fro trying to help.

It was also at this time that Okina seriously started to teach Haruo in the ninja arts first starting with the theory parts. Haruo not only studied how to kick or punch a man, but also studied the human body. For as Okina explained it once when he complained: to punch a man in the face was painful and it would piss off the other man. But punching him in the throat was much more devastating. Okina also stressed that it wasn't enough to know lots of techniques with which he could defeat the enemy, the most important thing was where your heart and spirit was as a person. Ninpo dealt with the defence of the entire human being, and taught that a life-threatening situation was dealt with both the spirit and the physical techniques.

Then again, not all the advices that Okina gave Haruo were useful. Some were downright stupid and Haruo had taken to writing them down just so that when he was angry at Okina, he could read the 'advices' and laugh himself silly. It pissed Okina off too, which was always a plus. Amongst the most stupid ones were 'never scream just before attacking another ninja from behind, this will only alarm the ninja that you are about to do something', and 'it's easy to be friendly with a weapon in your hands'. Haruo had long since given up on Okina, and just classified the man as totally insane.

It was four years after the establishment of the Aoiya that the inn got another permanent inhabitant. A boy the same age as Haruo called Shinomori Aoshi arrived.

… – **The Aoiya, Kyoto, 1858 **– …

Eight year old Haruo was currently in the garden behind the Aoiya practicing his shuriken-throwing skills. He was never much of a hand-to-hand fighter, and preferred long-distance fighting like shuriken and other things one could throw. He also loved to mix explosive powders and in the beginning Okina was afraid he would blow up the entire Aoiya. But Doppo-sensei just laughed at the other's fear and continued teaching Haruo everything he knew not only in kajutsu (explosives and firearms), but also in poisons.

Either way, Haruo was out happily practicing when Yukiko-san opened the sliding door and stuck her head out. "Haruo-chan, hurry up inside. Okina-san wants to talk to you, and apparently it's important."

Haruo stopped his practicing and hurriedly picked up the discarded shuriken. "Do you know why he wanted to talk to me, Yukiko-san?" he asked curiously.

She shook her head. "No, but Akaki-san accidentally overheard Okina-san mentioning the Okashira." Upon hearing that Haruo took off down the corridor and to the rooms that the permanent inhabitants of the Oniwabanshu members. If it was something concerning the Okashira, then it was definitely important. He reached Okina's office and meeting-room quickly and took a deep breath before he knocked on the wooden framework of the sliding door.

"Come in Haruo," Okina's voice called, and Haruo entered. Besides Okina, there were two other men in the room, dressed in the normal shinobi uniforms from the ninja-villages Iga and Koga. And with them sat a young black haired boy with ice-blue eyes.

Haruo and the unknown boy stared at each other for a moment.

"Ah, Chuichi-san, Gennosuke-san, I want you to meet my nephew Haruo." Okina introduced them and Haruo bowed politely to the two men who bowed back. "Haruo, these are Chuichi-san and Gennosuke-san from Iga. Now Haruo, myself and these two gentlemen have some business to discuss, so I would appreciate it if you could keep young Aoshi-san here occupied for a while?"

"Hai, Okina-san," Haruo turned towards the other boy. "If you would follow me, Aoshi-san…" the other boy got up and followed Haruo who led them outside in the backyard where he had been practicing. "So, do come from Iga or Koga?" the green-eyed boy asked trying to make conversation.

No answer came.

"Do you have any training in ninjutsu (ninja art)?"

Still no answer.

Haruo frowned. What was it with this guy? He tried again. "Do you want to spar?"

Aoshi-san was silent as the grave and was staring at the beautiful garden clearly not paying attention. This annoyed Haruo, and he promptly poked the other boy, which brought no reaction. This didn't deter Haruo the slightest and he continued poking Aoshi until the boy angrily whirled around and poked him right back. It didn't take much for the poking match to turn into a full-out ninja brawl. There was kicking and punching and throwing of both shuriken and kunai, although both Haruo and Aoshi were good enough not to be hit by the projectiles. Haruo had time to notice that the other boy used kenpo as opposed to his ninpo, but that was all as a well placed kick sent him skidding across the gravel path in the garden and into the small duck pond.

The fight continued as soon as a sputtering and cursing Haruo had managed to get himself on dry ground again. By this time the fight had drawn the attention of Akaki, Yukiko and Doppo, and all three stood in the door opening staring with wide eyes at the fighting duo who were going all out on each other.

"Someone has to stop them!" Yukiko exclaimed and Akaki moved forwards, but was stopped by Doppo. "Doppo-san, wha-?"

Doppo just grinned. "No need to stop them, they'll be fine on their own. They're testing each other like all boys that age do, nothing to worry about." All three winced as they heard Haruo yell 'kecho geri!' (bird-kick of rage), followed by a quieter voice exclaiming 'kansatsu tobikunai' (piercing/killing flying daggers).

It was at this point that Okina stepped out along with the other two ninjas, and the three newcomers stared at the two fighting boys for a moment before Okina said, "Would you look at that! They are getting along splendidly already!"

The others didn't comment, but from that day on Haruo and Aoshi were friends, one might even have classified them as best friends, although both would deny it if asked.

…----…

It was at this time that the revolution went up another notch, from occasional uprisings to more organised fighting. The daimyo and statesman Ii Naosuke was assassinated outside Edo Castle by 17 ronin in march 1860. The Shinsengumi and the Ishin Shishi started to take form, and Edo Castle was calling to all loyal to the shogunate to protect the shogun. Everything started a quickening descent into chaos.

Both Haruo and Aoshi started to receive missions from the Okashira. Whether they worked alone or together one thing was certain, they were both deadly and to be feared. It was on one of these missions that they stumbled across a baby girl named Makimachi Misao. She was the only survivor of an ex-Oniwabanshu peasant family which had still been a part of the Oniwabanshu network, and the two of them brought her back to the Aoiya. This happened in 1862.

A year later Aoshi returned from a mission half-dragging half-carrying a man named Shikijo. Shikijo was black and blue and had received some impressive scars obviously from Aoshi's deadly double-kodachi.

"Let me guess, he followed you home, right?" Haruo asked, then shook his head. "That's the second one Aoshi." Aoshi had previously brought the enormous, fire-breathing Hyottoko.

The other teenager just stared silently.

Haruo sighed and gave up. "Alright, lets get him cleaned up. Hannya!" he called into the Aoiya.

The masked shinobi appeared silently. "Yes?"

"Could you please get a room ready and get some supplies?"

"Of course." Hannya disappeared down the corridor and Haruo and Aoshi followed.

"How is Misao-chan?" Aoshi asked after a moment.

The green-eyed teenager grinned. "Kami-sama (god), he speaks! Now if he could only laugh as well!" he exclaimed, but then chuckled good-naturally. "She's fine, Aoshi. Not much difference from when you left, though she has learned a new word."

"Which is?"

"Hentai (pervert). Okina has been teaching her."

"That explains it then."

…----…

At the age of 15 Aoshi was chosen as the new Oniwabanshu Okashira when the old one died in a fight. By this time the revolution was at its worst, both Hitokiri Battousai of the Ishin Shishi and Saito Hajime of the Shinsengumi had made a name for themselves amongst others, and the Oniwabanshu was hired to protect Edo Castle. At this time yet another person joined the Oniwabanshu. Beshimi was his name, and he was an expert at spiral darts. Haruo and Beshimi often held competitions to see who was the best, and Aoshi didn't even bother to try to stop them. Even being Aoshi's second in command, Haruo could sometimes act like a kid. Aoshi assumed it came from growing up with Okina.

The revolution came to a surprisingly peaceful end in approximately 1868 – at least for the Oniwabanshu.

As said they had been hired to guard Edo Castle, yet, in the end, the Castle gave in peacefully to the demands of the enemy, and there was no fighting done. Tokugawa Yoshinobu stepped down as shogun and was placed under house arrest, his men were disbanded or arrested, and absolutely with no violence to subdue people. Even the most opposed person surrendered without a fight.

Aoshi, as soon as he heard the Imperialist army moving through the castle, sent Hannya, Hyottoko, Shikijo and Beshimi away with orders to return to the Aoiya and wait for himself and Haruo there. He would have sent Haruo with them, but after seeing the stubborn look in the other man's eyes, gave up that idea. Haruo hadn't left his side before, and there was no chance in hell that the green-eyed man would do that now.

Anyways, the Imperialists came, arrested the two men, and threw them in jail. Two months later Aoshi and Haruo were set free as the Imperialists couldn't find anything to fault them for, and also because Okina had stormed to the police headquarters demanding for two of his best 'chefs-for-hire' to be set free lest his inn went bankrupt!

"And if you two decide to do something like this again, Okashira and second in command or not, I am going to spank you both!" the old spy hissed as soon as they had arrived back at the Aoiya again. "You two are really aiming to give us a heart attack! Do you know just how much Misao-chan cried after Hannya told her that you had stayed back!" Okina glared at them for another minute, but then suddenly his disposition changed completely and he smiled widely at the two silent men. "But you're back and safe and that's what counts!" he shouted gleefully and would have caught both Haruo and Aoshi in one of his bone-breaking hugs if the two hadn't gracefully avoided his attempts and hurriedly left the room both muttering something about having to greet Misao.

Okina just smiled and watched the two retreating backs. Perhaps now his two favourite 'chefs-for-hire' – he snickered upon remembering the difficulty Haruo had had to hide his disgust at that down at the police headquarters – would finally get some peace from the fighting. The old spy worried about those two sometimes, all the friends they had lost to the war and all the people they had killed… what those two needed now was peace and time to work through all the repressed emotions. One didn't have time for emotions on missions, nor in the revolution, but now when the peace finally came they could relax.

'_Yes, that is exactly what we'll do,'_ Okina thought to himself. _'The Oniwabanshu will keep to the shadows and lie as low as possible, we will disappear from peoples memories until we're needed again.'_ Smiling he followed the happy shrieks of a little girl outside to the back garden, and sat down on the wooden veranda beside Aoshi. "Four Oniwabanshu are to arrive at the Aoiya in a week's time," he said.

Aoshi nodded. "I know." Of course he knew, he was the Okashira.

They watched as a six-year-old Misao stood in the middle of a circle consisting of Haruo, Hannya and Beshimi, whilst she demonstrated her mastery of the bird-kick of rage that Haruo had been teaching her.

Yep, Okina thought, peace was what they all needed.

…----…

There, finished. Please tell me what you think.

Once again I apologise if this chapter seems rushed, but – as said – it's only a filler that explains the basic history of the characters, at least how I see it. I have up to volume # 14 in the comic book series, but I do have the entire anime, so I'll follow the manga up until after Shisho and all that, and after that we'll have to see.

There will be more information about Haruo, Aoshi, Misao and the others in the next couple of chapters, either as flashbacks or as a retelling of situations involving them, so don't worry. Everything will be explained, and if it isn't, don't hesitate to beat me over the head and point me in the correct direction.

Also, please remember that I really am not sure about the timeline in 'Rurouni Kenshin', so I am working with what I could deduce from the novels. If someone knows a site – or if they know themselves – the correct timeline, please do not hesitate to tell me and I'll correct it as soon as I can. Otherwise lets all assume that this is slightly AU or something when it comes to the 'Rurouni Kenshin'-world, ne?

On a sadder note, these upcoming three weeks are going to be taken up with written and oral exams, so please don't be disappointed if I don't update for a while. I'll see what can be done, but don't keep your breath.

Anyways, thanks to:

TsknRaider, D-sama, Kaaera, bellashade, Kitta-Baby, Allyanna, Sweet-single, Jagare, SlytheinWicca, applebottoms, Angel the Devil's Daughter, kathy stgqvk, thelordofelves, Unclear Destiny, scott, StolenDreamer, Thanos Farek Seid, CrystalBlue, Valkyrie Nienna Helyanwe, zimagesto, Kaze Sabishii, Nyoko, A-Brighter-Dawn, Chara13, Regal Baring, cronenus, simpleinsanity, Yami no Kaze, pink-fogg, Serpent of Light, Trisana Kara, Iridescent Twilight, poka, Wren Truesong, Aurelia, howling wolf1, MatalinoLukaret, Sarah R Potter, Leia125, merdragon, maleficus-lupus and Moongypsy04


	3. Chapter 2

**Know Why the Nightingale Sings**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the obvious, the rest belongs to JK Rowling and Nobuhiro Watsuki.

**Author's Note:** Thanks for the wonderful reviews, you guys are the best! Also, I know Aoshi might be acting slightly weird at the beginning of the chapter, but I just wanted to show that he wasn't always the icicle we all love today. Further messages at the bottom of the chapter, otherwise enjoy this chapter!

Thanks to my good friend and beta, Paladin Steelbreaker. I am also sorry that this is so late, which is mostly due to problems with the computer.

**Chapter Two:**

"AOSHI-SAMA! HARUO-SAMA!" the shout was the first thing which greeted Haruo upon exiting the Aoiya and entering the back garden. The next thing he knew he was almost bowled over by a six-year-old Misao as she threw herself at him in a bear-hug. Before he could quite comprehend what the hell went on and hug her back, she had moved on from him and to Aoshi.

"Good morning to you too, Misao-chan." Aoshi said and patted her back lightly.

"Good morning you two!" the hyperactive girl bounced up and down between them, her hands grabbing one of theirs as she jumped. "Are the new Oniwabanshu members arriving today?"

Haruo nodded with a smile. "Hai. They should arrive around midday, isn't that right Aoshi?"

The other man simply nodded and allowed Misao to drag him to the room where they usually had breakfast.

"What're their names?" the girl asked as they sat down by the table.

Okina entered at that moment and sat down at the table himself, followed by Doppo-san, and Yukiko-san and Akaki-san who were carrying the breakfast itself. "Kuro and Shiro are two," the old spy said. "The other two, I believe, are called Okon and Omasu. At least that's the names that we'll know them under. Only Aoshi will know their true names until the four themselves decide to give them to the rest of us."

"But what will happen to Akiko-san, Yukiko-san and Doppo-san?"

Doppo smiled widely at the girl. "I have been given a nice little farm outside Kyoto to retire to, and Yukiko-san is coming with me. And I believe Akiko-san has received an offer of marriage." The woman in question blushed slightly, but grinned happily as well.

Misao squealed. "SUGOI (wonderful), AKIKO-SAN!" she jumped up and hugged the older woman.

Haruo smiled. "Congratulations, Akiko-san." Then his smile turned into a playful grin. "The groom wouldn't happen to be a certain young man named Eijiro, would it?"

"Eijiro?" Misao blinked in confusion. "You mean the one who was selling us those kodachi a couple of months ago?" The green-eyed man nodded and winked, and Misao squealed again and hugged Akiko again.

Aoshi leaned over to Haruo who was sitting beside him. "I think Misao has been taking hug-until-death lessons from Okina." He remarked dryly, and it was true. Akiko was slowly turning blue and was trying to get the hyper Misao off of her without any luck. Haruo nodded and sighed. Now they had to avoid two hug-crazy people, something he was certain would take all of their skills as shinobi. But still he couldn't help but smile. The Oniwabanshu was one hell of a family to be a part of, that was for certain.

Looking around he noticed that four of the Oniwabanshu members weren't there. "Where are the others?" he asked Aoshi.

"Hannya is out spying as usual. Beshimi is out gambling I believe, and Hyottoko and Shikijo are at the market." Came the reply. "Do you have any special plans for today?"

Haruo shook his head and grinned. "Nope, not unless the Aoiya becomes so busy that I'd have to help out. Otherwise I was thinking of lazing about the entire day. The same thing I've done every single day this week." There was a short silence between them as Haruo grabbed a few mouthfuls, before he put his bowl down again and sighed. "And I am completely and utterly bored." He admitted. "I wasn't made for this quiet life. I'm so used to being kept on my toes that now I feel as useless as a some of those rich, lazy good-for-nothing gaijins (foreigners)."

Aoshi nodded in agreement. "How about a spar later on? Both to give us something to do and to make sure you don't get too fat. I don't want my only field-doctor and explosives expert to not be able to keep up with the rest of the group on upcoming missions."

With his eyebrow twitching, Haruo glared at the other man. "You still on about that happening?" he demanded. "I told you a thousand times before: I was leading them away giving you and the rest of the group time to get away!"

"It happened three days ago." Aoshi pointed out. Then he poked the green-eyed man in much the same way Haruo had poked him the first day they had met.

"I am _NOT_ fat!" Haruo growled. "And I don't see you getting any thinner either, Okashira!"

"It is dangerous to delude yourself, as a ninja you should know this. Either way, I am here if you want to talk about it." The two looked at each other for a moment, then Haruo burst out laughing. The only sign that Aoshi was just as amused as Haruo was, was the slight relaxation of his facial muscles and the almost unnoticeable twinkle in those usually inexpressive ice-blue eyes.

The others around the table looked at the laughing Haruo, then shifted their gaze to Aoshi, and again back at Haruo. Finally they shrugged and gave up trying to find out what was so funny. None of them had heard the quiet conversation, and quite frankly it wasn't such an odd sight either to suddenly have Haruo burst into laughter for apparently no reason at all.

Okina was quite proud to say that his little Haruo was as insane as he was, and let it be with that.

Life was good.

…----…

The next couple of weeks after the four new Oniwabanshu members arrived and the three old ones left, Haruo watched as everyone got used to new faces around the Aoiya and helped the four new ones get settled.

Okon and Omasu were two kunoichi, two female ninjas, and both had looked forwards to finally relaxing from the war, and to have nothing to worry about except the occasional mission and the running of the Aoiya. Shiro and Kuro had always been partners since they joined the Oniwabanshu, and when one decided to do something the other would follow. Besides both males needed to relax as well. Actually, when Haruo thought about it, most of the Oniwabanshu members were starting to go into retirement and were finding other occupations now that the war was over. They weren't abandoning the Oniwabanshu, but most had hinted or out-right told Aoshi to not call them back to duty unless it was one of those end-of-the-world-save-the-nation situations. They just wanted to live in peace with their families and preferably forget the horrors of the war.

"Not everyone was made for combat like we are," Haruo had said to his best-friend and leader. "Let them go and live their lives in peace. That's what we fought for all these years, isn't it?"

Aoshi just 'hmm'-ed and Haruo didn't know if he should be worried as he couldn't figure out of that was a negative or a positive sound. That was odd, as he was the best one amongst the Oniwabanshu at reading Aoshi's body-language, which was one of the reasons he was the second in command.

Hannya, Hottoko, Beshimi and Shikijo started spending more and more time at the Aoiya, making the days pass either by helping to run the inn or teaching Misao tricks of the ninja trade. Misao herself was completely overjoyed that all her favourite people in the world were there with her, and that there was no mission to take them away from her again – at least as far as she could see.

However, Haruo wasn't so sure about that. Aoshi had been walking around in a thoughtful silence for the past couple of weeks, and Haruo had observed the man stop and stare at the others living at the Aoiya as if weighing the pros and cons of something. He would often just stand and watch when someone sparred or were busy teaching Misao how to do something.

Haruo sighed and couldn't help but wonder what went on in the Okashira's head sometimes. Right now Aoshi was watching as Beshimi was being thoroughly pummelled by Hannya who was one of their top hand-to-hand combatants.

"I see you're worried as well." Okina said as he stepped up beside his adopted nephew.

"I am." Haruo confirmed. "Usually I have an idea of what's going on with Aoshi, but not this time."

"If he does decide to leave us, you will join him?" it was more of a statement than a question.

He snorted. "I will. I have a promise to keep after all." Thinking back on said promise, Haruo smirked and shook his head.

… – **Flashback – …**

Aoshi had just been made Okashira of the Oniwabanshu onmitsu at Okina's recommendation, and the leaders of as many of the Oniwabanshu-branches from around Japan had showed up to see their new leader and to receive any new orders regarding the branch under their jurisdiction. Not only that, but a few of the shinobi from both Iga and Koga had arrived as well. They were all outside waiting for Aoshi to appear and murmuring quietly amongst each other about this child-genius who had become Okashira at only 15 years of age.

Haruo was standing guard by the door while Aoshi was being lectured by the former Okashira's advisors. Okina was in the room as well, and seemed to have a jolly good time watching the teenager trying not to kill the older three men lecturing him. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, the three men stopped babbling, and Aoshi headed towards the door where Haruo was standing.

Just before the blue-eyed teenager could open the sliding door, Haruo grabbed his wrist and hissed. "I promised to protect you with my life, and I will. But know this: the second you do something stupid – or get a big head because of your position – I won't hesitate to beat you into a bloody pulp of goo on the floor. Got it?"

Aoshi didn't indicate that he had heard anything Haruo had just said. He calmly slid the door open and stepped out to gaze over the bowed heads of everyone gathered there.

There hadn't been any festivities. Rather, the ninjas had quietly congratulated Aoshi on his appointment, and had disappeared into the darkness after getting their orders. But one thing Aoshi made sure to do before everyone left, and that was to fire the three men that had served as the former Okashira's advisors, and reinstate a shocked Haruo as his second in command.

… **- Flashback fin. – …**

Haruo sighed. "I have kept that promise for three years, and I don't intend to stop now."

Okina nodded his head marginally. "Misao will be enormously disappointed."

"I'll send letters to the Aoiya as often as I can get away with it." Haruo promised.

"You do that, and I'll have other members keep a discreet eye out for you."

Haruo nodded as well and went back to watching both Aoshi and the spectacle that was the fight.

…----…

"Misao's sleeping," Haruo reported as he stepped up behind Aoshi. It was a surprisingly clear night; the stars dotted the sky like fireflies, and the moon was less than half-full. "When she wakes in the morning she'll be very sad when we're not there."

It was also the night they were leaving the Aoiya.

"Are you sure that you want to leave, Haruo?"

Haruo smiled. "I made a promise to you the day you were made Okashira if you remember, and I don't intend to break that promise so this is the only way. I can't keep an eye at you when you're on the other side of the country. Besides, I'm not the only one." He added as Hannya, Beshimi, Hyottoko and Shikijo stepped out of the shadows.

"We're coming too!" Beshimi said with a grin.

"And you aren't going to convince us otherwise." Hyottoko declared as he slung his enormous backpack onto his back.

Aoshi still looked like he was going to argue, but Haruo beat him to it. "Listen Aoshi, we all know that the capital city of Japan isn't going to be Kyoto anymore. They've moved it to Edo, and renamed the city to Tokyo. Nothing is going to be happening here in Kyoto anymore, and that which does happen, well, Okina and the others will be able to deal with it. And you know me, I love moving around, and I won't do much of that if I stay here at the Aoiya, now will I?"

The Okashira sighed. "Alright, I expected as much from you Haruo. But the rest of you, are you sure that you-?"

"Will you stop it already?" Shikijo smirked.

"There will be no working with customers here," Beshimi smiled.

"Not only that, we'll only be in the way," Hyottoko added.

Hannya stepped up. "We're low-lifes…" the masked man said. "As Haruo-sama said, all we can do is fight. In these times of peace, looking for trouble is all that's left."

"You aren't going to discourage any of us, Aoshi," Haruo put a hand on the man's shoulder. "We'll follow you to the end of the world if we have to."

Aoshi stared at them for a moment. "In that case…" he took a deep breath, "Very well, I'll say no more. Let the six of us mark the end of the Oniwabanshu – gloriously – by proving ourselves the ultimate killers." He turned and started walking down the street, and the other four followed.

Haruo wondered for a second if he should be worried about Aoshi. If only the man had said 'fighters' it would have given Haruo more peace of mind than 'killers' ever did. Oh, well, he shrugged it off. They had all killed in the past and didn't have any inhibitions of doing it again. It was their job after all. He was sure there was nothing to worry about at all.

With another sigh the green-eyed man ran to catch up to his comrades before they disappeared into the night.

…----…

For seven years they travelled around Japan taking on odd jobs here and there. Haruo dutifully sent letters to Okina as often as he could, which was surprisingly few times. Perhaps four or five letters each year, most often less than that. Even Beshimi, Hyottoko, Hannya and Shikijo sent letters back to the Aoiya, but Aoshi didn't unless it was to give an order, and then only through a chain of Oniwabanshu members. Haruo watched as Aoshi became even more stoic and even more expressionless than he had ever been before, if that was even possible. Haruo tried to keep the man from sinking completely into himself, and it had worked so far, but the seven years on the road had changed all of them and given them new scars. The green-eyed man was definitely getting worried, and he wondered if it wasn't time to take a break and settle down for a few months – without having to worry about some mission or other.

"It doesn't even have to be at the Aoiya, Aoshi," Haruo told the other man. "We can settle down in Hokkaido, or on some remote mountain top, or a temple, or even _China_ if you so wish, as long as we can all relax for a few months. We all need it!"

"Not now, Haruo, I just got word from a certain man named Takeda Kanryou. It seems he needs bodyguards, guards and assassins. And him being the high-profile person he is… well, we're bound to get into some good fights."

Haruo was rather surprised. "Takeda Kanryou? _The_ Takeda Kanryou! The guy who deals opium on the black market and whom even the yakuza and the politicians keep far away from?"

Aoshi nodded.

"Why would he suddenly need more bodyguards when he already has a private army at his disposal?"

"He has apparently discovered a new way of making opium which takes – if one listens to rumours – half the cost to produce, but gives twice the profits."

"But-"

"He has offered to house us and feed us as long as we work for him. We can relax then."

Haruo shook his head, his face grave. "I highly advice against this, Aoshi. We should take time off for at least a month, then we can go to Takeda and join his forces if you absolutely want. We're bound to get the position either way as there is no one out there better than us."

"This is a one-time deal offer, Haruo, we cannot let it pass."

"Yes we can, Aoshi. You're the only one who cannot let this go. Out of all of us, you're the one who needs to relax the most. The title of the strongest isn't going to run away form us!"

"It will if someone else takes it form us!"

"Aoshi-!"

"Stop this right now, Rihito Haruo! I am still the Okashira here, and although I appreciate your advice I am still the one who takes the final decision." The two of them stared at each other for a moment.

Haruo bowed his head slightly. "Hai, as you wish." His voice was devoid of any feeling, and his face was just as expressionless. It was clear that he strongly opposed this, but that he had no choice.

"If we leave for Tokyo tomorrow, we'll be there in a week's time at most. Just around the time that Takeda is expecting us. Now, go tell the others to pack up."

"Hai, Okashira." Haruo bowed slightly and left the room without a sound.

And this was how, a week or so later, the Oniwabanshu found themselves working for Takeda Kanrou and guarding the producer and mixer of the valuable 'Spider's Web' opium: a young, spirited doctor.

A female doctor named Takani Megumi.

…----…

Right-o, another chapter outta the way. Once again, this damn thing ended up as a rushed filler chapter **:sweatdrop:** I really thought I was going to get further in this chapter **:sigh:** Anyways, to answer some questions and concerns.

Yes, Haruo will meet up with the entire Kenshin crew and the rest of the shebang. Wouldn't be 'Rurouni Kenshin' without it. About his magical abilities, well, all I am willing to say is that they will be exposed soon enough, and Haruo will go back to the future, but not quite yet. About everyone's age, well, although my calculations are a bit off with the timeline (as it has been pointed out), I assume that Aoshi and Haruo are around 27 or 28, the same with Kenshin. Although I think I read somewhere that he was a year older than Aoshi. Then again, I did say that this was slightly AU in the Kenshin-universe, and definitely AU in the Harry Potter-universe.

As for Harry's Japanese name, well, I really didn't have any meaning in mind. I just wanted to find something that sounded close to 'Harry' and not copy 'The Itch's 'Haku' from their Harry Potter/Naruto crossover.

While we're on crossovers, I have ideas for both a Harry Potter/Inuyasha crossover, and a Harry Potter/Naruto crossover. I don't think any of the ideas have been used before, so please tell me which ones you want first. I'll start it as soon as I finish writing 'Saga 4', which will be soon enough I believe.

Another bad piece of news. This Sunday I'm off on vacation and won't be back until either the 17th or the 18th of July. So, unless I am able to update 'Rings and Medallions' before that – which I highly doubt seeing as the chapter isn't even written yet – don't hold your breath. Sorry mates.

Anyways, please review and tell me what you think of this chapter.

Thanks to:

Iridescent Twilight, ApocSM, Kaaera, Numb Soul, A-Brighter-Dawn, Allyanna, thelordofelves, Leia125, Sweet-single, Firehedgehog, Hero Girl Of Brien, Jujuberry, Kordolin, Sweetest Thang, tomboy101, AzureKita, Alowl, Fate, nabiki, mental.girl.on.sugar, Jagare, Chara13, Wren Truesong, Digi Bonds, Sarah R Potter, chaser1, Aryx, MetalinoLukaret, Ayan, applebottoms, gaul1, merdragon, diablosdarkness, Rayna, Meanthis, Delinka, korrd, Tenshi Youkai no Yugure and insanechildfanfic.


	4. Chapter 3

**Know Why the Nightingale Sings**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the obvious, the rest belongs to JK Rowling and Nobuhiro Watsuki.

**Author's Note:** BWAHAHAHA! I have finally gotten an English-Japanese dictionary! Fear me all! BWAHAHAHA!

Thanks to my good friend and beta, Paladin Steelbreaker.

**Chapter Three:**

Takani Megumi was an unusual woman, that was the only way to describe her in Haruo's opinion. She was firm, stubborn, she was more independent than most women of the age, and in the week since the arrival of the Oniwabanshu at Takeda Kanryou's Tokyo mansion, she had tried to escape no less than four times. And Haruo – being the only one amongst Kanryou's men with an acceptable amount of doctorial skills – was assigned (i.e. ordered) to take care of the woman after Kanryou had finished with punishing her. And although Kanryou never went past the occasional slap and a long, boring lecture full of threats and tries for blackmail, Kanryou's men usually took the chance to beat the beautiful female doctor almost senseless before delivering her to their boss.

So, here Haruo was taking care of Megumi's wounds for the fifth time that week. He sighed and put down the washcloth, then took up the ointment that would hasten up the healing of the numerous bruises marring the woman's face and shoulders. Kanryou's little pet couldn't go around in public completely black and blue, now could she? He snorted contemptuously at the thought, and silently continued his work.

Megumi was awake, Haruo knew that by the way she breathed. He also knew that she wanted to ask him something by the way her eyes constantly searched for him, lingered on his face, a slight quiver in her lips, but then her face would turn away as she lost her nerve. However, Haruo worked silently and patiently waited for the young doctor to start the conversation.

Finally, after an hour or so, Haruo was packing away his supplies and was getting ready to leave, when Megumi decided to speak up.

"W-why…" the woman began, then stopped to take a deep breath before she continued. "Why do you do this?"

Haruo didn't look up from cleaning his tools. "Do what?"

"Why do you always treat me after one of my escape attempts? They never did that before…" she trailed off.

"They didn't have anyone able to treat you before we arrived, and Kanryou couldn't just invite the local doctor for a visit, now could he?" Haruo checked that everything was where it was supposed to be, and closed the western-styled briefcase. "Besides, why shouldn't I treat you?"

"But I am an _object_!" the hate in Megumi's voice was clear. "All I am good for is making the Spider's Web and consequently killing all those people who use it!"

Haruo looked at the young doctor. "You let Kanryou win if you think like that," he said – nearly whispered – to her, his voice harsh and cold. "I believe it was a French philosopher called René Descartes who said 'I think, therefore I am'." (1)

"What does a gaijin(foreigner) have to do with anything?"

"You think for yourself, don't you?" the young doctor was outraged. Talk about mood swings!

"Of course I do! I will not let anyone here tell me what to do!"

"Therefore you are not an object," Haruo concluded and picked up the suitcase. "Kitsune-onna(fox-woman)." He said quietly before he exited her lavishly decorated room and the guard outside locked the door after him.

Haruo headed back towards the corridor where the Oniwabanshu had been stationed, and as soon as he had rounded the corner and was out of sight to the man guarding Takani Megumi, Hannya dropped from the ceiling and fell into step with him.

"Konban wa (good evening), Hannya." Haruo greeted the other man without blinking.

"You shouldn't have done that, Haruo-sama," Hannya said quietly after he returned the greeting. "Excuse me for saying so, but you cannot let yourself become attached to Takani Megumi-san."

"I am not becoming attached to her," the green-eyed ninja replied calmly. "I simply answered a questing she asked, nothing more, nothing less."

Hannya sighed in resignation. "Honestly Haruo-sama, there is no arguing with you once you make up your mind – you an Aoshi-sama are alike in that regard."

The other smirked. "No wonder you think that, Hannya. Aoshi and I practically grew up together."

"Which is why you are the best at reading the reasons behind the Okashira's choices." Beshimi spoke up as Haruo and Hannya entered their room, Aoshi was the only one of the Oniwabanshu who had a room all to himself. "So perhaps you can tell us what Aoshi-sama was thinking when he accepted this job? I will faithfully follow the Okashira to the end of the world, but just sitting and watching a woman being beaten because she wanted her freedom is not my cup of tea."

The others blinked at the 'cup-of-tea' remark, then promptly decided that Beshimi had been spending way too much time amongst the gaijin(foreigners), especially the British.

Haruo shook his head. "For once I cannot answer you, Beshimi, because I myself do not know. Aoshi's thoughts are hidden from me the same way a cloud hides the moon," he sighed. "We have all changed in these past seven years, but Aoshi has changed the most of us all. It… worries me." He finally admitted. Then he shook his head and sent a smile towards the other two people in the room. "Lets not talk about such depressing thoughts. Beshimi, how is your training with Hannya going lately?"

Beshimi groaned. "I swear I'll beat you one day, Hannya-kun!"

"You keep telling yourself that, chibi-ichí(little one)." Hannya replied pretending to inspect his glove-covered nails.

"ARRGH! Just wait until I get my hands on you!"

"Allow me to point out that you still cannot move from our last training session together."

Haruo just watched the friendly argument with an exasperated mien. "Beshimi, the times when the odds are stacked too much against you, perhaps you should consider taking it as a hint?" he suggested then quickly ducked the spiral dart aimed at his head.

… – **Three years later, Kanryou's mansion, 1878 – …**

In the three years since the Oniwabanshu had started working for Kanryou several things had happened. For one, Kanryou had become even wealthier than before. Two, Takani Megumi had taken Haruo's hidden advice and had become the epitome of a foxy woman. Three, Beshimi still hadn't beaten Hannya in a hand-to-hand fight, though not for a lack of trying. And four, Aoshi had actually started to relax again. Although it was microscopic (to use a western term), the change was still there, and the Okashira was slowly returning to the man he had been before they had left the Aoiya. This had largely helped to lay to rest the fears Haruo had been harbouring, and in turn Haruo felt lighter than a feather. He had really been worried about Aoshi.

Then one day Beshimi came into the room the Oniwabanshu were allowed to use as a meeting room, and announced something which made them all blink.

"You're not going to believe this!" the little man had exclaimed. "I was walking through town trying to pick up news, and what do I hear!"

The dramatic pause was broken by Shikijo's fist connecting with Beshimi's head. "Hurry it up, chibi-ichí!"

"Don't call me that!"

"Will you get to the point, Beshimi?" Aoshi asked without looking up from the game of Go he was playing. He made a move, then said, "Your turn Haruo."

Beshimi glared at Shikijo and rubbed his head, but continued. "I heard that that chap who was pretending to be the Hitokiri Battousai attacked a small-time dojo on the outskirts of town. And here's the real kicker: apparently he was beaten by the _real_ Battousai."

Both Aoshi and Haruo froze. This could not be good news. Shikijo, who had previously worked for the Ishin Shishi, had never seen the famed hitokiri, and had only heard rumours. However, Haruo had seen Battousai during the revolution – he even had a scar on his chest (curtsey of Battousai himself) to prove it – so whenever they caught wind of rumours about Battousai, Haruo was the one sent out to investigate.

"I'll be ready in ten minutes," Haruo said and stood up, abandoning the Go-game.

He had reached the doors, when Aoshi spoke up. "We will do nothing unless we hear another rumour of this 'ture' Battousai. Haruo, you're always the one who tells me that we need to relax, so sit back down and let us finish this game."

The other five exchanged surprised looks, then shrugged and went back to what they had been doing, and Haruo made his move on the Go-board. His thoughts, however, were back in the revolution, reliving the moment he briefly met the most deadly man in all of Japan.

… – **Flashback – …**

It was complicated, Haruo reflected, and annoying as well. Why the hell did he have to be sent on a boring mission which only consisted of standing guard, looking mean, and trying not to be bored to death by the meeting of a couple of lower lords who were trying to figure out if they were going to join the Ishin Shishi side of the war or the Shinsengumi. So far, as far as he could tell, they were heavily leaning towards the Shinsengumi.

'_But why in the name of Kami-sama did they have to meet in a forsaken, old, abandoned hut in the middle of nowhere. The place is surrounded by a thick forest, which will be easy for the enemy to hide in, and the villagers certainly noticed the arrival of five lords in one day. Idiots, the whole bunch of them.'_ Haruo thought and hid a yawn. _'Well, except Akira-dono.'_

Akira-dono was the lord who had actually hired the Oniwabanshu. He was an elder fellow, both kind and wise, and he was the only truly neutral party amongst the lords – in Haruo's opinion. The other lords hadn't even bothered to get themselves professional bodyguards.

"What do you think of the meeting so far, Rihito-san?" Akira-dono asked the masked ninja during a break. All he could see of the young man were unnaturally green eyes which glittered in the weak lamplight.

"It is not my place to say anything, Akira-dono. My opinion may influence yours, and that would be dishonourable, for if it were the wrong choice it could end very badly for many people." Haruo replied, always trying to remain strictly impersonal during any solo mission.

"Very well said indeed!" Akira-dono smiled. "I would be honoured to have you as a son-in-law." The elder man continued in an obvious hint. Then blinked as he saw the seemingly stoic ninja twitch for the first time in their mutual acquaintance.

"I am honoured, but I must decline," Haruo tried not to twitch again. "I am afraid that my profession would keep me away from any potential wife, and no woman deserves a life in worry and loneliness." Akira-dono laughed loudly at that, but didn't push the matter, and instead sat back down in the circle and focused on the meeting.

Haruo sighed and barely managed not to wipe his brow. Why did every man he ever worked for try to push him into marrying one of their female relatives? Aoshi never had to deal with this kind of thing, in fact, the other teen was quite happy watching Haruo being traumatised by both their employers and Okina.

Deciding to escape the meeting for a few moments under the pretence of checking the perimeter, Haruo left the room silently and none of the people inside noticed him leaving. Outside he stretched and yawned and removed the cloth which usually hid his face. He hated the damn thing, it was too hot under it.

'_Kami-sama, what a boring ni-'_ he broke off his thoughts. It was unnaturally quiet in the area. Not even crickets were playing their nightly song. Instincts kicked in and Haruo did a quick search of the foliage with his eyes. He barely caught a flicker as the moonlight reflected on a half-drawn katana, ready for use. That simple thing was enough to send him running back into the hut and disrupting the meeting.

The next few minutes were utter chaos. Haruo's main concern had been to get Akira-dono out of the vicinity, and he ignored the other lords and their bodyguards. Luckily the attackers were too focused on the others to worry about two shadows sneaking away. The attacking force only consisted of two or three men, and yet they moved through the guards like a hot knife through butter. The screams of the dying and wounded men were interlocked with the roars of the attacking samurai, and yet, through all this Haruo managed to lead Akira-dono safely out of the hut and through the forest.

Moonlight reflecting in a drawn katana was the only warning Haruo had before he was viciously attacked. Luckily he had brought his ninjato and the sword (although smaller, weaker and not as well made as a regular katana) served well in taking the killing brunt of the attack. Haruo groaned as the attacker's sword made a slash wound across his chest, and before the other had a chance to attack again, the green-eyed ninja brought out his explosives and threw three of them between himself and the enemy. The place lit up like daylight, and as he looked back Haruo managed to get a good look of crimson hair, amber eyes and a cross-shaped scar on one cheek.

There was no doubt about it. He had just escaped the clutches of none other than Himura Battousai, the infamous hitokiri.

… – **End flashback – … **

"You were very lucky that time, Haruo," Aoshi's voice brought him out of his thoughts. "If you had tried to fight Battousai any other way than with explosives you would have been dead."

"I know," Haruo replied, made his move on the Go-board and took one of Aoshi's stones. "Are you sure that you don't want me to check this out?"

Aoshi just simply nodded and made his move.

…----…

The rumours of Battousai being in town died down until something happened to the police sword corps. Haruo himself had had several run-ins with those guys, and he would have gladly beaten them all to a pulp, but someone got there before him. All the locals said was that it was a small man wearing a magenta gi, and that he beat up the entire corps on his own before he talked to Yamagata Aritomo(2) as though they were old friends. But the Oniwabanshu wrote it off like the previous rumour. Oh sure, they knew that Yamagata had been in town, but the legendary Battousai wearing a _magenta_ gi? Right, as if!

At this point in time Haruo – being the fastest runner in the Oniwabanshu – was sent off to deliver a message for Kanryou to one of his associates, and by the time he had returned Megumi had escaped, still hadn't been caught and Beshimi had gotten his nose and teeth busted by two guys who had protected the foxy doctor.

"I guess it is my nature as an entrepreneur," Kanryou said as he cut up his steak and ignored the screams from the men being punished for Megumi's escape. "I'm uneasy if I don't immediately get rid of things that are useless. In that regard you are very perseverant, Okashira." The man chuckled.

Aoshi, who was standing beside the table, didn't bat an eyelash as he replied. "I am the commander of the Oniwabanshu, and I will not have you trying to but in."

"I fully understand that. In any case, I have no complaints if Megumi comes back to me."

Without turning the Oniwabanshu Okashira addressed one of his men. "Hannya, you know where Takani Megumi is?"

"Hai, she's in a dojo downtown." Came the seemingly body-less reply.

"Alright," Aoshi said. "You and Hyottoko help Beshimi with his job. And Beshimi? I won't allow for any more mistakes."

Beshimi put a clenched fist over his heart. "I-I shall engrave that thought into my heart." He replied from his hiding place and retreated.

Kanryou smirked. "I am begging you, Okashira. She is my hen that lays golden eggs, and I cannot possibly let her go. Please bring her back to me."

Aoshi didn't respond, instead he left Kanryou to finish his meal in peace and retreated towards his rooms. Haruo joined him halfway there. "You heard?"

The green-eyed man nodded. "Everything." They walked in silence until they reached Aoshi's room. "What are the orders, Okashira? The dojo Hannya mentioned is definitely the same dojo which was attacked by the fake Battousai. What if the rumours are true and the real hitokiri is living there?"

"We shall wait until tomorrow to get Hannya's report about tonight's mission." Aoshi said. "And then we will see where the road leads us. Only one thing is certain: the title of the strongest has never been in closer reach than it is at this moment."

Haruo felt all the forgotten worry well up in him again. Aoshi was once again talking about being the strongest, and with the potentially real Battousai in the vicinity it was an explosion just waiting to happen which was not good.

'_Not good at all…'_

…---…

And the plot has finally decided to show up! YAY!

Alright. That's that for this chapter. Please tell me what you think. Sorry this took so long. Author was lazy, then school began, then author got sick, got sick again, got Writer's Block, school, you know, the usual. -.-'

(1) René Descartes was a Frenchman living in the 1500ds I believe, so he would have been pretty known by the 1880s. I also wanted to bring into this story a certain amount of culture to show that although the Oniwabanshu are killers, they aren't compete animals. Besides, as it will be seen later on in the story, Haruo has a love for knowledge.

(2) Yamagata Aritomo (1838-1922) was a soldier and statesman, and the chief founder of the modern Japanese army. He studied military science in Europe and returned to Japan in 1870 to head the war ministry.

Concerning the **ninjato**, I did some research and the sword actually existed. The ninja sword was considerably shorter than a katana, only 24 inches, and the quality of the sword was much poorer. At the end of the scabbard there was a hidden compartment that was used to hide small weapons such as spikes, daggers or small amounts of poisons. Because the blade was not very sharp, the ninja could also use it as a hammer by holding onto the blade (carefully) and hitting with the handle. Also it was common to have the tip of the scabbard come off so it could be used as a snorkel.

I don't think there are going to be any pairings in this story, except the usual ones. I think I'll leave Haruo as a bachelor once again, I have absolutely no idea how to write romance concerning Harry – unless it is slash, which this story will not be – and everything will be explained in time, so no need to rush.

And now for some shameless bit of begging: Please check out my **deviantART** page and tell me what you think. Link can be found in my bio.

Thanks to:

simpleinsanity, Iridescent Twilight, Jagare, anon, ramen, Aryax, AzureKita, mental.girl.on.sugar, applebottoms, korrd, Kaaera, Kordolin, maleficus-lupus, Marikili68, chibimacha7, chaser1, Shiruba Fokkusu, Firehedgehog, Regal Baring, NamelessHeretic, Twilight Dusk, winterlover101, firephoenix8, A-Brighter-Dawn, Ruby Soul, Night-Owl123, Grey8, Falling Right Side-Up, Himura Arashi, Bob the Almighty, Bobboky, agghashi1004 and Ptath.

AkaRyuu-geji (**:hugs maleficus-lupus:**) signing off!


	5. Chapter 4

**Know Why the Nightingale Sings**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the obvious, the rest belongs to JK Rowling and Nobuhiro Watsuki.

**Author's Note:** Sorry about the lateness of this chapter, but Writer's Block attacked this story with a vengeance. More info at the end of the chapter, otherwise enjoy!

Thanks to my good friend and beta, Paladin Steelbreaker.

**Chapter Four:**

Beshimi's mission to scope out the dojo where the Battousai resided – and recapture Megumi if at all possible – was a failure, and that's with Hannya and Hyotoko as backup.

"To be honest, Haruo, I didn't expect them to succeed," Aoshi confided in the green-eyed man, his voice deadpan as if he was simply talking about the recent weather. "Battousai is known as the strongest warrior for a reason, and this other guy – Sagara Sanosuke – is the infamous fight merchant Zanza. They had no chance against those two seeing as they went in unprepared."

Haruo wondered if he should mention that it was on Aoshi's orders that the trio had acted so quickly, but refrained. "So what are we going to do?" he asked instead. "Kanryou will want his little _golden goose_ back as soon as possible, and quite frankly, I can't stand his whining."

The Okashira seemed to think for a moment before he made his decision. "Tomorrow we shall accompany Kanryou to the river to watch the spectacle that will ensue when someone discovers the bodies of those two unfortunate guards. There is a large chance that Battousai and Zanza will show up, and Takani Megumi will most certainly be with them. They will not want to let her out of their sight."

"And then what?"

"We'lllet them notice us in the crowd. It'll make them edgy and they will be pondering it for the rest of the day. Now, this is where you and Hannya come in. Just around midday, I want you to draw Battousai and Zanza away from the dojo, then Hannya will go in with a message to Takani Megumi. Things will fall into place on their own after that."

Haruo nodded in understanding. "I suppose someone is going to detain this Kamiya Kaoru and her student whilst this is going on?"

"Hannya told me that Kamiya Kaoru usually spends that time training at the Maekawa dojo." Aoshi nodded. "Go alert the others of their roles."

"Hai," the green-eyed man nodded and quickly disappeared from Aoshi's private room. _'This is all Battousai's fault. If the guy had just continued to stay hidden and unknown, then Aoshi would still be relaxed and not obsessed with being the strongest. Just wait until I get my hands on that idiotic hitokiri.'_ He grumbled all the way back to the room he shared with the other four, and took his frustration out on the poor door.

Beshimi looked up from his sick-bed, and greeted him rather quietly. Honestly, it was a wonder that the guy didn't have a serious concussion after taking a hit to the head courtesy of the Battousai. Shikijo was crooning over the love of his life, a large, spiked iron ball connected to a long chain. None of the others could see what was so special with the damn thing, but Shikijo insisted that it was the most beautiful thing in the world. They let him be.

"How are you feeling, Hyottoko?" Haruo asked the enormous man.

"I'm fine, Haruo-sama. Still a bit sore in the throat, though." The man replied, his voice raspy.

Haruo snorted. "Well, that is no surprise what with you blowing out all that fire carelessly last night, and then having your oil-bag violently ripped out of you by way of your throat… it's a miracle you haven't lost your voice yet." He carefully felt the man's throat, then peered through his mouth to assess how it was healing. "Another couple of days and perhaps you'll be able to get back to solid foods again. For now, continue enjoying your soup and stop complaining!" he added the last part quickly, and Hyottoko huffed and nearly pouted.

Hannya chuckled. "Stop acting like a child, Hyottoko. At least it isn't as bad as the incident when you tried to show off your skills to Misao, and ended up setting fire to the Aoiya _and_ burnt yourself in the process."

Hyottoko's response to this was to curse violently, but quietly.

The green-eyed man shook his head in amusement, then, after checking up on Beshimi, got down to business. "We've got orders concerning tomorrow." He said, and at once everyone else shut up to listen. "Myself and Aoshi will accompany Kanryou to watch the spectacle tomorrow, and…"

The orders were quickly given, and everything was prepared for the next day.

Haruo – whose futon was just placed so that he could gaze out the window – sighed and looked up at the stars. He couldn't help but feel a foreboding feeling about what was going to happen tomorrow. What with Kanryou obsessed with Megumi (seriously, the guy needed a wife – poor woman, whomever she was), and with Aoshi so obsessed with being the strongest, well, things were not looking bright at the moment.

His only hope was that he was wrong about it all.

…----…

They had been completely right in assuming that there would be a large spectacle upon the discovery of the two corpses. In such a peaceful place and era, where the bloody horrors of the Bakumatsu were all but forgotten, a murder was big news, and people flocked to the place like bees to honey. Aoshi and Haruo accompanied Kanryou to watch the entire happening, and the crime lord seemed mighty proud of the commotion he was the cause of.

"I simply love my work," the man sighed happily.

Fortunately Haruo wasn't there to hear it, or else he might have done something stupid. Instead he was mingling with the crowd, trying to sniff out where the Battousai and Zanza were. It took him some time to finally find them, but it was worth it upon seeing Megumi there with them. He went as close as he dared, and listened in on their conversation.

"All from Kanryou… the same guys who chased the kitsune-onna…" the tall, white-dressed guy with the red bandana muttered, and Haruo had him at once pegged down as the infamous Zanza. The man's stance was that of someone who knew how to fight, and descriptions from other people always said that he wore a white jacket with the kanji for evil printed on the back.

"That's pretty vicious…" the Battousai replied.

Once you knew what to look for it was very difficult not to spot the red head. Haruo was amazed that that bright red hair hadn't given the guy away during the Bakumatsu.

Megumi snorted from her place between the two warriors. "It's Kanryou's way." She said and pretended to be unaffected.

Haruo shook his head with a smile. _'Still stubborn.'_

A stiffening of Battousai's back and shoulders, brought the green-eyed man from his musings, and he focused on the small but deadly swordsman.

Apparently Zanza picked up on the movement as well. "What do you see?"

Battousai zeroed in on Aoshi and Kanryou with a shocking speed, and Haruo had to admit that even though he had known it was possible, he was still impressed with the guy's ki-sense. Megumi gasped Kanryou's name in shock and surprise, and Zanza confirmed it for Battousai.

"But who is that with him, the one to the right?" Battousai wondered.

"Dunno," Zanza replied. "The boss of the private army, perhaps?"

"No!" the female doctor exclaimed, a note of fright entering her voice. "He's the Okashira!"

Battousai turned towards her. "The Okashira?"

She nodded. "Having a private army wasn't enough for Kanryou, what he wanted was Oniwabanshu! So he hired a former head, Shinimori Aoshi, who – it is rumoured – became the leader at the age of 15!"

"And someone like that is working for Kanryou… why?" the white-dressed fighter scratched the back of his head.

'_I am wondering about that one myself.' _Haruo agreed in the privacy of his own mind.

"This one couldn't say," the hitokiri said. "But now knowing exactly the danger that Megumi-dono faces, well, there's no way we can abandon her now."

There was a silence between the three people, and Haruo was about to give up and go back to Aoshi and Kanryou, when Megumi spoke up again.

"Could either of you tell me if you see a green-eyed man standing up there with Kanryou?" she asked. "He is usually similarly dressed as the Okashira, and slightly shorter…"

"I don't see anyone matching that description." Zanza said after a while of gazing. "Why do ya ask?"

"Who is this person, Megumi-dono?"

She sighed. "He is Rihito Haruo, the Second in Command of the Oniwabanshu. Wherever the Okashira is, he is never far away."

'_To show myself or not to show myself, now that is the question…'_ Haruo sighed. _'Choices, choices!'_

The choice, however, was taken out of his hands when the redhead suddenly spun, and gazed straight at him with lilac eyes that widened upon spotting him and recognizing him.

'_The hitokiri has a good memory,'_ the green-eyed man absentmindedly noted, and tried to ignore the surprised gaze of the Battousai, the growling of Zanza, and the insecure gaze of Takani Megumi. They stood there for what seemed like hours, with Haruo studiously ignoring the trio gazing at him, and the trio not daring to turn their backs on him or even move in case they made an even bigger spectacle.

Just as the crowd started to disperse having had their fill of drama for the day, Haruo turned his head slightly and met the trio's eyes one at the time. Battousai's eyes narrowed, Zanza seemed to take his look as a challenge, and Megumi gulped visibly. Then Haruo simply smiled, turned and calmly walked away whilst humming a catchy, western tune. To both mock the group further, and to throw them even more off kilter, he stopped at a shop and gazed at the selection of beautifully-done combs. He even bought one for Misao to send with his next letter, went straight across the street to the little restaurant and bought dango, then continued on his way calm as calm could be.

He could hear Zanza arguing loudly from somewhere far behind him, and chuckled as he munched on a dango. _'Easy there, rooster-head, we'll meet again before this day is over. If everything goes according to plan then, in a couple of hours time, we'll have a private meeting. I cannot wait.' _Even though he disapproved of Aoshi's obsession with being the best, he couldn't deny the fact that he would love to have a fight with two very good and new opponents. By know the members of the Oniwabanshu knew each others moves so well that it wasn't challenging to fight together anymore, and the rest of Kanryou's men weren't even worth thinking of as potential sparring partners. However, here was a perfect chance to test if he hadn't lost his skills in the past three years, and he was giddy like a small child.

'_Besides,'_ he thought to himself, green eyes flashing. _'I owe Battousai a scar. Only then will we be even. Hope nothing ruins the upcoming fun!' _

…----…

Haruo grumbled and pouted, and tried to ignore Hyottoko's teasing and Bashimi's snickering.

"There, there, Haruo-sama," the large fire-breather was saying. "It isn't the end of the world, you know."

"You will have another chance to fight with Battousai soon – according to Aoshi-sama, that is." Shikijo said from his place by the window.

And that was the crux of the matter. After having looked _so_ forwards to drag Battousai and Zanza away from the Kamiya dojo that afternoon, and then have a lovely little fight before returning to Kanryou's mansion for tea. Therefore he'd been incredibly disappointed to find out that both of the fighters in question weren't at the dojo, and the only one in sight had been Megumi herself, and she was cooking what seemed to be dinner for the rest of the group. Honestly! After all his hard work Battousai and Zanza had the audacity to not be worried and nervous, and instead they went happily into town. The collected ego of the Oniwabanshu – but especially Haruo's – had taken a hard plummet that day.

"But I so looked forwards to it!" Haruo groaned almost at the verge of tears.

Hannya patted him comfortingly on the shoulder. "It's alright, Haruo-sama." The masked man said, his voice filled with understanding. Everyone in the Oniwabanshu were itching for a good fight, and had been ever since it had been confirmed that the real Battousai was living at the Kamiya dojo.

Haruo took a deep breath and put himself together. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Right, gather around everyone, I'm about to explain the plans for when Battousai and Zanza arrive."

"Why isn't Aoshi-sama here to plan the defences with us?" Shikijo asked as he settled down beside Beshimi. Hannya was sitting beside Hyottoko, and Haruo was sitting just by the heads of the two bed-resting shinobi.

"He's asleep," the green-eyed man replied. "He will need all his strength for the upcoming meeting with Battousai, especially if he's to use his Sword Dance, his Kaiten Kenbou."

The scarred man nodded in understanding. "Right. Now, lets hear what you have planned for us, and then get some rest ourselves."

…----…

Seeing as Aoshi and the rest of the Oniwabanshu were still in dreamland a few hours later, and Haruo was the only one of the group awake, it was him Kanryou's guards came to when Takani Megumi finally showed up. It was already starting to darken outside, Haruo noted as he passed a window on his way to Kanryou's office. Both Megumi and Kanryou were there, and the green-eyed man couldn't make up his mind if he should be worried for Megumi or for Kanryou.

"Welcome home, Megumi-san," Kanryou was saying just as Haruo arrived. "I knew you'd come back. Where else have you to go?"

'_He couldn't just leave it with the welcome-home-part, could he? That mouth of his is going to get him into trouble one of these days.'_ The shinobi thought to himself, and continued observing the scene from his secret hiding place. Kanryou's mansion was full of secret passages which made it very easy for the Oniwabanshu to sneak around.

"Our stock of Spider's Web is almost out. You will make more, won't you?"

Megumi was silent, and Haruo carefully opened the door to his hiding place enough so that he could watch the two in the room. He was starting to get worried, it had been a long time since Megumi had taken Kanryou's abuse and orders in complete submissive silence.

Kanryou sighed dramatically. "Why must you be so rebelling? Why must you always reject me? I think of you always as my darling!"

"The _profit_ you make from the opium I produce, is your darling."

'_Back on track I see, kitsune-onna.'_ Haruo grinned. _'And sharp as ever.'_

"Mhmm, that's why I take such good care of you." The opium-dealer licked his lips suggestively whilst holding Megumi's chin with his gloved hands.

The watching shinobi pulled a grimace. Kami-sama, but the guy was _gross_! Kanryou should've been in jail a long time ago, and Haruo really had no scruples about delivering him to the police personally. Or he could kill the man and make the world a better place. Either suited him just fine, though he preferred the second option.

Megumi, however, didn't even bat an eye, and replied coldly. "Indeed. Sadly, I have not come here to make opium."

"Eh?" Kanryou blinked stupidly.

'_Idiot,'_ Haruo thought to himself and tensed, readying himself for the action that was sure to come.

"Takeda Kanryou, I've come to kill you." The female doctor had drawn a hidden dagger from her sleeve, and took a deadly swing at the man in front of her. And if Kanryou hadn't moved back in shock, and raised his arm in automatic self defence, he would've ended up with a slit throat.

"YAAAHH!" Kanryou screamed and clutched at his wounded arm.

"Don't worry," Megumi raised the dagger again. "You and I are links in a chain. I'll follow you shortly."

'_I suppose this is my cue to intervene.'_ The green-eyed shinobi sighed. _'Oh well, here we go.'_

"I _did_ say I'd rather die than return. No longer will others' lives keep _me_ alive!" Megumi backed her tormentor into a wall. "We're falling to hell together. This is the one small apology I can offer my victims."

The dagger went down.

Kanryou screamed like a woman.

Haruo was already moving at top speed.

Megumi's empty hand hit Kanryou right above the heart, and she gasped upon discovering that her weapon was gone. "My dagger!"

Haruo stepped calmly from the shadows behind her, the dagger held loosely in his right hand. "That's enough. Lets stop here before someone loses an eye."

Kanryou was enraged. "You… little… _WRETCH_!" he backhanded Megumi sending her to the floor. "You little bitch! I was playing nice, and you got your head full of air! Your mentor defied me too, and things went wrong! Do not underestimate the great Kanryou! I'll kill you!" during his little speech he was shamelessly beating up the defenceless woman on the floor. "But first I'll torture you until you spill the secrets of the Spider's Web opium, once I know those I'll have no more use for you! Haruo! Call my men!"

Haruo just sighed. "They're all quite busy right now." He replied without blinking an eyelash.

"Eh? Why?"

"Listen and you'll understand."

There was a short silence in the room. From the outside came the shouting of Kanryou's men, and the whistle was blown in warning. The racket had probably woken the entire house by now, and Haruo knew for a fact that none of the Oniwabanshu would be able to sleep through all that.

"That man… he's here." Haruo said and gazed out the window from a position in which he could see the people in the courtyard, but none of those in the courtyard could see him. And it was true. Battousai and Zanza were moving through Kanryou's guards like a hot knife through butter, and they weren't alone. Kamiya Kaoru and her student were bringing up the rear of the group, taking care of the few guards that would still be conscious after the two males were done with them.

Everything happened at an incredible speed, and with quite a few humorous remarks from the quartet.

"Hey! Sanosuke! How dare you throw me into a group of gun-wielding sissies! I could've been shot!" the lone student of Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu demanded after the last group of guards had been defeated with pathetic ease.

"I was setting the stage for you! You made your dent, kid! You should thank me!" Zanza replied.

Kanryou was just standing by the window, completely shocked. "I don't understand… Why? What could Himura Battousai possibly gain by helping that woman?"

"If Battousai the Manslayer only acted for profit, he would be a high-ranking official in the army by now." Hannya said, his sudden appearance making Kanryou jump around. "A capitalist like you would never understand, but Ishin Shishi – like us, the Oniwabanshu – lived and died for our ideals. In the year of Meiji most patriots have rotted beyond recognition, but his spirit still seems fresh…"

Haruo smirked. "Our bait has caught us a patriot from ten years gone. That man is prey for the Oniwabanshu!"

"You cant be serious! To make the legendary assassin our enemy…!" the man stopped as he noticed that Battousai was gazing straight at him.

"It's time to give up, Takeda Kanryou!" the infamous assassin called. "Come down with Megumi-dono!"

Haruo and Hannya wondered if Kanryou was having problems breathing.

Suddenly Kanryou did a desperate attempt at putting himself together, and applauded. "My, how splendid! To defeat that many people so easily! I expected nothing less from the legendary hitokiri, Himura Battousai!"

"Idiot." Hannya muttered. "He has just given away the small upper hand we had over Battousai. Now the assassin won't feel the need to hold back on his skills and hide his true identity."

"Well, he never was the brightest pea in the pod." Haruo agreed.

"He knows about Kenshin!" Kamiya Kaoru's surprised voice reached them from the courtyard.

"I am sure that the Oniwabanshu did all the research." Zanza said.

Kanryou was ignorant to this, and he was also ignorant to just how much his next words pissed Battousai off. "Amazing! I am quite impressed by your skills, the display thrilled me! Join the Oniwabanshu, serve me and we'll be unstoppable!"

Hannya and Haoru both growled quietly. As if Kanryou could govern them!

"I'll pay the wages of 50 men in my private army! And just to guard _me_! What do you say!"

Battousai was not impressed. "Are you going to come down, or are you not?" the redhead asked as he stepped forwards.

Kanryou sweated. "100 men's wages!"

The hitokiri took another step.

"200!"

"Don't you get it? Your money's of no use here. I told you already, Himura Battousai does not live for gain." Hannya commented.

Kanryou gave in. "Fine!" he called. "I lose! I'll let Takani Megumi go! Give me an hour, there are things to prepare. She's all yours in an hour, I promise! Now go away and let us be!"

Zanza snorted. "As if we'd ever trust you!"

Battousai retreated from the group, getting some angry not-even-_you're_-that-trusting looks from his three friends. He stopped underneath one of the two lampposts that were placed on each side of the path, got into a stance which was unfamiliar to both Hannya and Harou, and then drew his sword with such speed that even the two shinobi had trouble following its path. The poor lamppost didn't stand a chance, and the severed upper half flew through the air and connected with the wall of the mansion dangerously close to the window where Kanryou was standing.

Then the dangerous assassin turned towards the house again. "We will now come to pick up Megumi-dono! You just sit and wait, Kanryou!"

Kanryou looked ready to faint.

"Because you tried one of your tricks, you made him even angrier." Hannya was clearly amused. "You do love drama, don't you?"

"That just means that you will have to fend the Battousai off! It's what I pay you good money for! I will have no more mistakes with Beshimi or Hyottoko! You got that, Hannya?"

The masked fighter growled. "The only one to give the Oniwabanshu orders is the Okashira, Shinomori Aoshi-sama, or the Second in Command, Rihito Haruo-sama! And for them we're always glad to die-"

Haruo cut him off. "Easy there, Hannya. Battousai will be defeated; however, it won't be for your sake, Kanryou."

"W-what are you saying? Your duty is to protect me!"

"Who cares about what happens to scum like you? No, their target is Takani Megumi, and I'll place her in the third-floor observatory. Hannya, get to your place, I'll take care of the rest."

"Hai, Haruo-sama!" Hannya disappeared.

"Wh-what am I supposed to do!" Kanryou demanded.

He picked up Megumi and slung her across his shoulder, before he replied. "You can sit here and count your money, or something. I don't care." With that the green-eyed man closed the door and quickly walked to the observatory. He placed the woman on the window seat, and waited.

It didn't take long before she stirred.

"Those from the Kamiya dojo have arrived." Haruo remarked.

"Ken-san's group?" she gasped in surprise.

"Don't get your hopes up, they won't get up here anyway. What awaits you isn't rescue, but torture at Kanryou's hands." He threw her dagger down on the floor between them. "Here. This is for bringing such a strong enemy to us."

Megumi blinked in surprise. "Haruo-san… you… you have changed. I have never seen you so… so bloodthirsty…"

"You seem to forget that I am an Oniwabanshu, and what all Oniwabanshu love is a good battle. However, concerning your options at this moment: you can either die with honour, or live in pain. It's your choice." With that he exited the room and locked the door.

He needed to get ready for the battle ahead.

…----…

I am sorry for the long absence, but at least it's a long chapter. That's good… right….?

Concerning the lack of magic in this fic: there's nothing to worry about, it will all be explained soon. And the first sign of it will appear within the next couple of chapters, so have patience. About the age, well, Harry is about 25 or 26 at this point in time.

Right, I've got a few questions for you, so **please answer**!

**1.** Should I pair Rihito Haruo and Takani Megumi?

**2.** Should I do the entire '_Rurouni Kenshin_' series – at least the parts with the Oniwabanshu – or should I just skip to the wizards?

**3.** Should I write a crossover between '_Harry Potter_' and '_InuYasha_'? The possible storylines are as follows:

- Harry needs a Shikon Shard to defeat Voldemort and ends up in the Sengoku Jidai.

Or 

- Harry is Sesshoumaru

**Please vote!**

Thanks to:

chaser1, Morrolan, Bobboky, korrd, Firehedgehog, ShadoweGoddess, chibimacha7, Kaaera, gaul1, NamelessHeretic, shadow-darkness89, Skuld's Sentaro 5, A-Brighter-Dawn, Ptath, maleficus-lupus, DemonEyesKyoko, Jewelle2, LenJade, Wolven Spirits, Shadowed Rains, XinnLajgin, Wytil, anti-thule, kirallie, PersonaJXT, Stéphanie, crazy-lil-nae-nae, Catylina, hittocerebattosai, Itasuko-chan, Ississ, Ikono, Anave Lipad, O.o, irin, Moonprincess202, fanatic, lil-sis4556, Wraith, Dattatreya, and bluezenith.


	6. Chapter 5

**Know Why the Nightingale Sings**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the obvious, the rest belongs to JK Rowling and Nobuhiro Watsuki.

**Author's Note:** All I can say is that I'm so sorry for the lateness of this chapter. I seem to have lost nearly all my inspiration for this fic, though some ideas do pop up now and then – which, in turn, leads to a new chapter. However, this story WILL NOT be abandoned, so please don't expect or beg for regular updates, they will come when they come. Otherwise enjoy the following chapter!

Haruo's magical powers make an appearance in this chapter!

Thanks to my good friend and beta, Paladin Steelbreaker.

**Chapter Five**

Haruo found Aoshi standing – fully dressed and prepared for battle – in the middle of the ballroom when he came down from the observatory tower. He could vaguely see the outline of the two kodachi through the large, white trench coat the taller man insisted on wearing.

"Looks like they've begun," the green-eyed onmitsu commented as faint sounds of battle reached the two of them from the lower floors of the mansion.

Aoshi nodded; his face expressionless. "Hannya is tough," he said as if to comfort the other man. "If his combat skills aren't enough, his unbeatable Shin-wan technique – the 'Arm Extension Spell' – _should_ be. His opponents have no chance unless they see through the trick."

Haruo didn't bother with answering that statement. He hadn't been afraid that Hannya would loose, no, the spy-master was too skilled for that to happen. He was afraid of Hannya being killed despite Battousai's no-killing ideal and reversed sword. Even a sakabato could do a lot of damage, and if the correct inner organs were damaged, Hannya could die due to internal bleeding. It wasn't a happy thought.

'_When this is all over we're definitely going on a long vacation,'_ the green-eyed man decided silently, and eyed his best friend and boss. _'And he'll join us even if I have to kidnap him!'_

"Haruo."

"Hmm?" he asked.

"Stand guard outside, and remember the plan." Aoshi ordered, his voice as expressionless as his face, though Haruo could detect a small something in the other man's manner which told him that Aoshi was very much looking forwards to fighting the most famous hitokiri of all times.

Instead of voicing any of his concerns as he might have once done, Haruo simply nodded and walked towards the doorway opposite them which led into the corridor from where Battousai and his group would arrive. "Of course, Okashira. Battousai should arrive for your battle at any moment." With that he exited the room.

Haruo had to walk down a rather long corridor to get to the stairs leading down to the lower floors. The staircase was rather long, and at the bottom of it a group of Kanryou's own swordsmen were placed. Stupidly enough these guys were equipped only with wooden swords, and everyone, including themselves, knew that they had absolutely no chance against the attacking force. Therefore they proved to be no big match for the quartet. Battousai and Zanza simply passed them without paying much attention, and Kamiya Kaoru and her student Myojin Yahiko were left to deal with them.

"Alright! Kaoru-dono, Yahiko, I'm trusting you two!" Himura Battousai shouted as he ran past the swordsmen and up the staircase.

"They're just a girl and some brat!" Zanza muttered. "You're making fun of us!" he accused the red-haired hitokiri.

"What was that!" came the angry shout from Myojin Yahiko as he waved his bokken threateningly up the stairs at the fight-merchant.

Kamiya Kaoru had instead focused on the men and wooden swords that surrounded her and her student. She held up her own bokken, and focused on the fight ahead. "The Kamiya Kasshin Ryu…" she started to say.

"… Don't you make fun of it!" the hot-headed Yahiko finished, and then the two of them attacked the terrified swordsmen surrounding them.

All this Haruo had watched with a bit of amusement shining in his green eyes, but then he focused back on Battousai and Zanza. The two of them had already reached the landing, and just as they were about to continue ascending the stairs, they had to hastily jump to the side as a large ball of iron smashed into the floor between them, totally ruining the checker-theme of the marble tiles. The ball of iron was easily pulled out of the floor by means of a chain, and towards the wielder of the weapon. Shikijo had been sitting in the middle of the stairs, hidden from sight from the lower floors by the railing, but now he stood up and grinned at the two rather surprised men.

"If you've come this far, then you must've defeated Hannya. You _must_ be good!" the large, muscular and scarred Oniwabanshu member said with a grin. "But considering the ease which your two companions down there are taking care of Kanryou's hired help, it doesn't really surprise me. I am Shikijo, if you were wondering, and this is my way of saying 'hello'. Hello!" with that he swung the enormous ball-on-chain at the two fighters again.

Everyone were surprised when Zanza suddenly jumped up and actually caught the iron ball, and held on. The chain was stretched, and the fight-merchant was panting heavily as he tried to regain the breath that had been forced out of his lunges at impact with the ball.

"Sano!" Battousai exclaimed in worry.

"I'm fine!" the other insisted. "Leave the muscle-head to me, and keep on going! This guy I can handle easy. You go and get that drug-pushing wench _out_ of here!"

The red-haired hitokiri seemed slightly indecisive for a second, then nodded. "Aa." He agreed, and then he flitted up the stairs that Shikijo was guarding with surprising speed. And there was nothing Shikijo could do to stop the small man because his weapon was still clutched tight by Zanza.

But Shikijo didn't even try to pull his ball-on-chain free, and simply smirked as his eyes met the lilac ones belonging to Battousai as the hitokiri passed him. Then the man stopped worrying about the hitokiri, and focused back on the fight-merchant.

"You…" Zanza realised. "You planned on letting Kenshin go from the start!"

"Had to." Shikijo replied. "Best guys go to the best guys. Way it goes. Me, I have to settle for third-rate goods, for _you_ 'fight-merchant Zanza'." He smirked. "You had quite the rep in the Tokyo underground, but without that big ol' zanbato you ain't much!"

Haruo stopped listening in on the conversation at that point, because Himura Battousai had finally reached the top of the stairs, and now stood in front of him, ready for battle.

"We know each other's faces, and we have met in battle once before. Now we speak for the first time," Battousai said, his hand placed on the hilt of his sakabato.

"Indeed," Haruo replied, though his own hands remained in his pockets. The same pockets were filled with various shuriken, kunai, and other weapons, and also some explosives that could be safely and effectively used inside the house without burning the house to the ground. His entire stance conveyed no threat, but the smaller man was smart enough not to buy it.

"What was said to Hannya, is now said to you," Battousai spoke up. "This one would avoid battle when possible. Will you not let me and my companions pass, and tell us where Kanryou and Megumi-dono are?"

"Hannya didn't let you pass when you asked him this, so why should I?" Haruo smirked at the suddenly tense man. "Relax Battousai, although I owe you for a rather spectacular scar, I am not going to fight you, nor am I going to tell you where Takani Megumi or Takeda Kanryou are."

"Then what happens now?" the smaller man asked with narrowed eyes.

"Now? Now you walk past me to the end of the corridor. There you will find the doors leading into the ballroom, and once you enter all your questions will be answered." Haruo's face suddenly lost its smirk. "Despite my own wishes your fight is with the Okashira."

Battousai stared at him for a long minute, and Haruo stepped off to the side, leaving almost the entire corridor free and unblocked except the occasional table or chest-of-drawers. The hitokiri slowly started walking, his lilac eyes always focused on Haruo's own green ones. It seemed like an age before the redhead passed the black-haired man, and then Haruo moved back to stand guard in the middle of the corridor again. His back was to Battousai and his front to the stairs again.

"You mean to keep them from coming to my aid." The hitokiri commented from where he had stopped.

"I hope we have the chance to fight again, Himura Battousai." Was Haruo's simple reply, and he had to almost physically hold himself back from turning and attacking the smaller man when the other's footsteps picked up again. How dearly he wanted to fight the best assassin of all times, he had begged Aoshi for one simple fight! Everyone had their fight except Beshimi and Hyottoko for obvious reasons, but Haruo wasn't wounded at all, nor was he weak or stupid – he was the Second in Command for heavens sake! yet Aoshi had refused for him to fight. Aoshi himself wanted to fight Battousai, and the hitokiri was going to be as rested as possible for Aoshi to be able to really measure his skill and grab the title of the strongest for the Oniwabanshu. Aoshi had never done that before, taken away one man's revenge only to get the title of the strongest.

Haruo sighed as he heard the doors of the ballroom open and close. _'I'm going to have a long, serious talk with Shinomori Aoshi once this is all over. It's about time I started acting on my promise to beat him into a bloody pulp of unidentifiable goo.'_

A young voice shouting out: "Oh no, not another one!" brought him out of his thoughts, and he looked up. Kamiya Kaoru stood at the top of the stairs along with her student Myojin Yahiko. Both looked a little winded, but ready for another battle. Zanza stood with them as well, although he had to lean slightly on the banister. The fight-merchant's forehead was bloody, and he had horrendous bruises forming all over, but his eyes were clear and he didn't seem to suffer too much.

'_You did a good job despite the outcome, Shikijo,'_ the green-eyed man thought, and gave the unconscious scarred man a mental pat on the back. _'You too, Hannya.'_ He added and did the same to the spy-master. "You can go no further. Please turn back or simply wait there, and we can avoid any unpleasantness."

Zanza snorted and wiped away a trickle of blood that ran from the corner of his mouth. "Kenshin's beyond those doors at the end of the corridor, right?" he asked.

"Hai," Haruo replied. "He is matching his powers against the Okashira, Shinomori Aoshi-sama."

"Well, if he's there, then we're also going to be there to help him." Zanza declared.

"So get out of the way!" the young boy shouted and waved his bokken threateningly.

Haruo simply stared at them for a second, then suddenly he disappeared from his spot and just as suddenly reappeared right in front of the boy, Haruo's right arm holding the drawn ninjato straight out, his coat fluttering slightly as it settled in around him, his upper body leaning forwards as most of his weight was placed on his left foot which was placed in front of the right. When it came to footwork the stance looked a bit like the Battoujutsu, but otherwise it wasn't.

The cut-off piece of the boy's bokken bumped into the wall on its journey through the air, then cluttered onto the floor several feet down the corridor.

"I have nothing against killing you all; in fact, I am burning for a good battle." Haruo told them as he straightened up his eyes flashing dangerously. "But orders are orders, and the Okashira ordered me to guard this corridor whilst he battles Battousai. That's exactly what I intend to do." He looked down at the shocked boy. "Be glad that it wasn't you head."

The two grown-ups were shocked as well, and could only stare at the green-eyed man. The speed had been as fast as the legendary speed of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, Battousai's own sword technique, and they suddenly realised that both Hannya and Shikijo were almost nothing compared to the man standing in front of them now.

"You…" Kamiya Kaoru began. "You're Rihito Haruo, the Second in Command of the Oniwabanshu!"

Zanza growled. "I knew you looked familiar! You're the one who spied on us two days ago by the river! I've wanted to bash your pretty face in since I first saw y- HEY! Don't you DARE turn your back on me!"

Haruo seemingly paid the other man no heed. He couldn't help it anymore, he needed a fight just like he needed air to breathe. It was an addiction, and he couldn't keep himself away from it anymore, especially not when he heard the faint sounds of steel clashing from inside the ballroom. Therefore he sought to provoke Zanza, and he knew he had done a good job when the man in question suddenly attacked.

Quickly swinging out of the way of the destructive punch aimed at his neck, Haruo retaliated with bringing his ninjato down aiming to dislocate the taller man's shoulder. Zanza was surprisingly quick and agile for a man his size, and caught the sword by the hand-guard with his right, and aimed another punch with his left. Grabbing the fist Haruo used Zanza's momentum to swing the man around and straight towards the staircase. The fight-merchant would've probably fallen down the stairs if Kamiya Kaoru and Myojin Yahiko hadn't intervened and caught Zanza by his white jacket and helped him regain his balance.

The smirk on the green-eyed man's face told the three just how much he enjoyed the fight. "Come at me with the intent to kill otherwise you'll never defeat me, Zanza."

"You…_ Teme_." (_Bastard._) Zanza glared. "Kaoru, can you help me out here? You're the resident expert on swords besides Kenshin." He asked of the woman.

Kamiya Kaoru nodded, her face set in determination. "Hai."

Haruo just stood there, waiting for their next move. This time it was the young woman, Kamiya Kaoru, who attacked. Her bokken rained down on him, and Haruo had to admit that her speed was impressive. However, she could never beat him, she didn't come at him with the intent to kill him, only to distract him enough for Zanza to sneak past and down the corridor. With that Haruo drew a couple of shuriken and kunai, and threw them at her. She wouldn't be seriously hurt – he couldn't bring himself to really hurt a woman – but she was forced to defend herself and jump out of the way of the projectiles which left Haruo free to chase after Zanza. Before the fight-merchant realised what was happening Haruo had used his considerable speed and delivered a kick to the man's abdomen, and sent him flying back down the corridor to his two friends.

"He's just like Hannya!" Yahiko exclaimed in surprise.

"Close, but not quite right." Haruo said to the boy. "Hannya is just like me."

"You taught him everything?" the Kamiya-girl concluded more like a statement than a question.

"No, Aoshi-sama did, but I was there as well." Haruo replied.

Zanza finally got to his feet, his arm wrapped slightly around his aching abdomen. "There's a large difference between teacher and student, so we need to be careful." The tall man told his two companions. "This isn't going to be a simple fight. Compared to Hannya and Shikijo this guy's so far removed from them that it's the difference between a child and a grownup."

Haruo smirked again, and got into a stance. "Ready whenev-" His words were cut off by the sound of numerous gunshots from the ballroom. The sound of the shots didn't stop at even after a couple of minutes, and judging by the sound of it the shots were placed too close together for it to be shot by one human with a gun, or even a group of them. Haruo could only come to one conclusion, and his eyes widened. "No. Impossible!" He whispered in shock.

"What is that?" Kamiya Kaoru demanded.

"Sounds like gunshots!" Zanza said.

"A Gatling gun!" Haruo exclaimed. Another round of shots had him running at top speed towards the ballroom. He kicked the doors open just in time to hear Aoshi ask where the devil Kanryou had gotten the weapon, whilst Aoshi himself along with Battousai were running all over trying to avoid being hit.

"That's Kanryou_-sama_, you impudent fool!" Kanryou roared from his place on the opposite end of the room from Haruo, and aimed the gun at Aoshi.

"_AOSHI_!" Haruo shouted as he watched his best friend fall to the floor. Totally ignoring the bullets flying all around the room, the green-eyed man darted in and to the fallen man. "Aoshi! Aoshi, are you alright!" he demanded and helped the other sit up, letting the slightly teller man lean on him for support.

"I was shot in the legs," Aoshi replied. "Nothing to worry about, Haruo."

Everyone turned towards Kanryou as the opium dealer lit up a cigar and started talking. "I have no intention of ending up as some small-time, petty opium dealer. My goal's _always_ been to move up to the big time."

"You mean…?" Haruo exclaimed his surprise evident on his face.

"That's right! I will raise in money by selling the opium, and rake in the riches by selling weapons like this new Gatling gun!" Kanryou laughed and puffed on the cigar. "I'm going to be a 'merchant of death', an _arms_ dealer!"

"And you're willing to use peoples lives and happiness for your own fortune?" Battousai demanded from where he stood. His three friends had joined him by now, and all of them stood close to the doors leading out into the corridor. They could escape quite easily. Haruo and Aoshi, on the other hand, were almost in the middle of the room.

"Listen, Battousai. If you have money you can wield power beyond any swordsmanship by a long shot. Just like this Gatling gun! In the end, the 'most powerful' is me!" he laughed.

At this point both Shikijo and Hannya had regained consciousness and had joined them in the ballroom. Hannya's shocked exclamation alerted everyone to their presence in the doorway, and Battousai and his friends nearly jumped out of their skins.

"Hannya! Shikijo!" Zanza glared at the two of them.

"Don't' be so suspicious. We both lost in fair fights, we're not about to turn cowards and backstab you now." Hannya said, his mask missing, and his disfigured face bared for all to see.

"You're not all that bad, are you?" Yahiko wondered.

"Was that sarcasm just now?" Hannya raised a nonexistent eyebrow.

Kanryou was still talking. "How wonderful of you two to join us! Now I can get rid of all the bests in one shot! You who dared to mock me from the beginning, I'll take care of you first! _DIE HARUO AND AOSHI_!"

Haruo and Aoshi could only watch as Kanryou aimed the Gatling gun at the two of them, and started shooting. They could see the shots that hit the floor as Kanryou took his sweet time in killing them. The shots came closer and closer, and they knew they had no chance of moving out of the way, especially not with Aoshi wounded.

"Oh no, you don't!" came a shout, and suddenly Shikijo stood in front of the two men like a shield, and took all the bullets meant for them.

"Shikijo!" Haruo and Aoshi gasped in shock almost at the same time.

"O-Okashira, Haruo-sama, don't… don't you start squirting now, those faces don't suit you t-two." The large man panted, his voice wavering. "I got no complaints. Look at these muscles… what else could I want? Not even bullets can… get through to… showed him…" he fell into a kneeling position. He was dead.

"Shikijo…" Aoshi whispered.

"At 200 shots a minute I can chop that meatball into _hash_! So, who's next!" Kanryou had a sick grin across his face. "Well!"

Another door opened, and Hyottoko stood there his barrel of oil on his back. "Hold your fire!" the enormous man roared. "Your opponent now is me, Hyottoko!"

"What!"

"Better not shoot, not unless you want this _oil-bag_ to go up in a _fireball_!" Hyottoko pointed to himself as he ran towards Kanryou.

"Then what if I shoot _here_!" Kanryou asked and pointed the gun straight to Hyottoko's face.

"NO!" Haruo shouted.

"Hyottoko!" came the yell from Aoshi.

The enormous man fell, but with a grin on his face. "You fell… for… it…" he said with his last breath. As he fell the large barrel on his back was destroyed from within and Beshimi jumped out a poisonous dart ready in his hand. Hytooko had gotten them more than halfway across the room, and now it would be a simple task for the small man to shoot Kanryou. But Kanryou was for once faster, and the Gatling gun went off whilst Beshimi was still in the air.

Beshimi didn't stand a chance.

"Beshimi!"

The small man fell on his back not far from Aoshi and Haruo, the two men watching in horror as he coughed up blood. "O-Okashira, we… we couldn't do it… They called us useless, said we had but one trick… but you kept us in the Oniwabanshu, and so to you… to the Okashira… we give our lives… I'm sorry… in the end… for being so… use-… -less…"

"BESHIMI!"

"My, my, that was close!" Kanryou panted. "That freak could have actually hurt me! Now, for the two heads of the Oniwabanshu…" he focused back on Aoshi and Haruo. "It shall be fun to watch you die!"

Haruo jumped in front of Aoshi and held up his crossed arms in front of his face. The Gatling gun went off again, but to everyone's shock the bullets seemed to hit something invisible, a small blue light could be seen around each bullet, and then they _ping_-ed off to the side. Everyone could just stare, but Kanryou didn't relent his attack and the bullets kept on coming.

"Haruo! Stop it! You're going to die!" Aoshi exclaimed. "Haruo!"

Haruo didn't listen. He ignored everything, just concentrated upon keeping the shield up. He had discovered this ability when he was small, and Okina had helped him to gain as much control of it as possible. No one else in the Oniwabanshu had this ability, and it had helped them get out of several tight spots over the years. Sometimes he formed the shield, other times – if they were under pursuit – they seemed to blend in with their surroundings. He never knew exactly what would happen, but he was glad this time that it was the shield that had come up. The only downside to this was that it was damn tiring, and he couldn't keep it up for a long time. Already he could feel some of the bullets managing to make their way through the shield, a couple of them grazing him, one leaving a long scratch on his face, and a couple even embedded themselves in his legs and arms. But he ignored it all and concentrated upon keeping the shield as strong as he could.

"Haruo!"

'_I'm probably not going to survive this. When it's all done, don't you dare do anything stupid, Aoshi.'_ The green-eyed man thought to himself as he felt several bullets whiz past him.

Suddenly the bullets stopped and he looked up. Hannya laid dead on the ground in front of him, and Battousai was just in the process of recovering his sakabato, whilst Kanryou looked pissed off. Haruo couldn't keep himself standing anymore, and he fell to the ground, only to be caught by Aoshi.

"Haruo! Are you alright?" the blue-eyed man demanded. "Haruo?"

Haruo groaned and sat up as much as he could. "Once we get out of here we need to have a very long talk, Aoshi. And this time you are going to listen to me, even if I have to beat it into that thick skull of yours." He growled and his green eyes wouldn't let the other man's blue ones turn away until Aoshi nodded his agreement.

"If you're going to beg for your life, then pray to your beloved money!" Battousai suddenly shouted to Kanryou, and with that the sakabato connected painfully with Kanryou's face, breaking the man's jaw and nose at the very least.

"… please… help… please…" Kanryou squeaked from his new position.

Myojin Yahiko squatted down by the guy's head, and poked it several times. "Even in rage Kenshin upholds his wow not to kill… mostly."

Neither Haruo nor Aoshi cared any more for what happened around them. They were both staring in grief a the dead bodies of the men they had called companions for numerous years, and Haruo could even feel his green eyes watering up slightly which hadn't happened since he was a little kid. He could feel Zanza's stare, but the tall fight-merchant didn't try to approach the two kneeling members of the Oniwabanshu – this mostly due to Battousai himself.

"For now let them be alone," the redhead said quietly.

"… alright," Zanza agreed, and both Kamiya Kaoru and Myojin Yahiko nodded in agreement, though they still sent sad looks towards the last of the Oniwabanshu.

"Let's go," Battousai had the three of them soon occupied again. "Megumi-dono is waiting." With that he climbed the stairs leading up to the observatory, and was followed by his trio of friends. They were soon out of sight and hearing range of the two broken men, and in the end not even the insanely loud arguing between Zanza and Yahiko could be heard.

The two of them simply kneeled there for a minute, then Aoshi suddenly clambered to his legs and picked up his discarded kodachi. He walked over to Hyottoko and brought the weapon down, cleanly severing the head from the body. Haruo winced at the sound and the blood, but he knew what Aoshi was trying to do. It seems like he was finally able to again understand what went on in Aoshi's head after all these years: Aoshi wanted to give their four trusty companions a proper burial, but seeing as they would have no chance to carry the bodies being injured as they were and so pressed for time, they would have to make do with the heads. Therefore Haruo got to his own feet, drew his ninjato and walked over to Beshimi. He looked down at the small man, a single tear escaping his eye, then he brought the sword down at the same time as Aoshi did it with Shikijo.

We'll take the secret passage, the one leading from the attic and into the woods behind the house". Aoshi's voice was emotionless. In his hand he was holding two severed heads by the hair, and he took the other two from Haruo when the green-eyed man reached him. "Let's go."

"Hai." Haruo replied and followed the taller man through the corridors of the house, and to the closest hidden door to the secret passage. Just as the two of them had passed into the passage and the door closed behind them, they heard numerous running footsteps and shouting, and also to telltale sound of several police whistles. "We got out just in time." Haruo muttered as he and Aoshi made their way through the dark corridor.

"Aa." Aoshi agreed, and nothing else was said for the rest of the journey.

When they reached the end of the tunnel, Haruo slipped past the taller man and climbed up the wooden ladder placed into the wall of earth, and he lifted up the top carefully to make sure that there were no police officers around. When he saw none he jumped out, and reached back into the hole to take the four severed heads. He tried not to look at them too much, otherwise he'd lose his breakfast. Aoshi got up as well, and then the two of them walked off. Once again luck seemed to be with them, for not even a full minute later, just as the two of them had gotten over the wall going all around the property; a group of police officers along with Battousai, his group and Megumi arrived at the scene.

"The door's open," Megumi said. "They _did_ come through here."

Aoshi stopped and so did Haruo. "There's one more thing to do before we leave this place." The Okashira said.

"There is." Haruo agreed and they turned back again. They needed to have one last chat with Battousai before they disappeared. They reached the wall surrounding the mansion and jumped atop it.

"Search!" the police chief ordered his men. "They must still be close by! Stop even a kitten going past!"

Haruo and Aoshi sent out a trickle of their ki, and as expected Battousai was the first to pick up on it. Everyone else followed the former hitokiri's line of sight, and most of them shuddered, a cold chill going down their spines at the scene that met them. Both men stood tall and proud, both mocking the police and refusing to be captured, the severed heads and bloodstained clothes were only making it worse.

"Wh-what are you doing?" the police chief stumbled over his words. "Arrest th-!"

Zanza stopped him. "Not so fast, you'll all just be killed." Then he focused back on the two men, and spoke to them. "It's not your faults. That Gatling gun… what could you have done? The Oniwabanshu died to let the two of you live, but they were happy to do it."

"Aoshi, Haruo," Battousai spoke up when the two in question didn't reply. "If you two cannot forgive yourself… let us fight one more time. Fight, and then _win_. Take the words 'most powerful' for those four's graves."

Aoshi was silent for another minute, then he turned away. "Battousai. Until I come to kill you… don't let anyone beat me to it."

"What if I kill him first?" Haruo wondered. "I still owe the guy a scar." He then sent a small smile over his shoulder at the group gathered below, and then both he and Aoshi jumped down from the wall and ran into the wild woods behind the mansion, disappearing completely from the tracking skills of the police and even Battousai himself.

…----…

There, please tell me what you think.

I am going to bow down to your wishes and bring in the wizards far more early than I had originally thought, in fact they will appear in the next chapter, so stay tuned! In the next chapter we will also be going more original in the _Rurouni Kenshin_-universe, and I beg of all of you to bear with any and all changes.

To keep from being torn apart by those of you who wanted me to do the entire series, all I will say is that Harry will return to the _RK_-world once he's done with the wizards. And about the Haruo/Megumi pairing: that will come much later in the story if at all. I'm still not sure, and the readers (you) seem to be divided 50/50.

The next crossover on my list is the HP/IY one I talked about last chapter, and it's going to be a 'Harry is Sesshoumaru'-story. It will be up as soon as I can get my lazy arse into gear and write down a believable start, so keep your eyes open, but don't hold your breath. Also several of you suggested that I make Harry Sesshoumaru's son. Sorry to disappoint you, but that won't be happening. I've always wanted to write and play with Inutaisho's character, and I'm going to have so much fun doing it!

Thanks to (holy frick, so many reviews!):

chaster1, Baka Shinobi, chibimacha7, Mikutalla, hittocerebattosai, pivs, Garfish, Firehedgehog, Stéphanie, Irin, simpleinsanity, Xsi, does it really matter, VB, Cheery Wolf, Trisana Kara, Lokichaosgod, Really Bad Fanfiction, Really Frozen Phoenix, shadowegoddess, very cool, NamelessHeretic, korrd, PAPOLO, Xurtan, Itasuko-chan, Your Lord and Master, FullMetalRuromaru, Nocena T. Calamus, Wolven Spirits, Kara, sephiroth's sword, BaNdGeEkMeGuMi, Sensibly Tainted, Shirubaafokkusu, Shitanii, Juuchan, suu, Mr. Snuffles, anti-thule, meoio, Ran Hoshino, SlytherinWicca, Shadowed Rains, Anave Lipad, Feramore, Striker1346, Tenshi Aine, darkshaman817, Saffron Cyanide, meamz, AngelsDawn, Kit Ninja, yuri-nami, Falling Right Side-Up, Tsukiakari-hoshi, Blood Silence, Shiruba Fokkusu, goddess bless, Padfoot's Sidekick, Chibi of Many Names, Kaaera, Red Star Dragon, meillin, Ptath, FTFCHRIS, Allyanna, Adnexus, covered in blood'n gore, Kitta Baby, Arashihawk, Chosha Kurenai, Knives, Nanashi Sonzai, MissSilver, kodomo, gohon ssj4, zi ma gesto, kuraishi, Doe Dagga Dee, Cap'n BlackRose, Ryushi Nigami, XinnLajgin, lildevil425, jabarber69, henriette, Purple Empress, HolyKnight5, blazinfirewolf, RainSeaker, Wraith, yllom21, Astra Ranyl, pottergrangerwealsey, Lombardia Dragoncroft, Draeconin, Tenshi Youkai no Yugure, ecichael, Gnomeish, storywriter10791, SunStar Kitsune, and MythologyGirl.


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